HISTORY
OP THE
WORK OF REDEMPTION
CONTAINING THE
OUTLINES OF A BODY OF DIVINITY
IN A METHOD ENTIRELY NEW,
BY THE LATE
REV. JONATHAN EDWARDS,
PRESIDENT OF THE COLLEGE OF NEW JERSEY.
Copied accurately from the third American edition, printed in Worcester
Massachusetts.
PHILADELPHIA :
PRESBYTERIAN BOARD OF PUBLICATION.
BT
775
1 0 12S6
A '"•: e ' • •-
if i *
PKEFACE
IT has long been desired by the friends of Mr.
Edwards, that a number of his manuscripts should
be published; but the disadvantage under which
all posthumous publications must necessarily ap
pear, and the difficulty of getting any considerable
work printed in this infant country hitherto, have
proved sufficient obstacles to the execution of such
a proposal. The first of these obstacles made me
doubt, for a considerable time after these manu
scripts came into my hands, whether I could, con
sistently with that regard which I owe to the hon
our of so worthy a parent, suffer any of them to
appear in the world. However, being diffident of
my own sentiments, and doubtful whether I were
not over jealous in this matter, I determined to
submit to the opinion of gentlemen, who are friends
both to the character of Mr. Edwards and to the
cause of truth. The consequence was, that they
gave their advice for publishing them.
The other obstacle was removed by a gentleman
in the church of Scotland, who was formerly a cor
respondent of Mr. Edwards. He engaged a book-
iii
IV PREFACE.
seller to undertake the work, and also signified his
desire that these following discourses in particular
might be made public.
Mr. Edwards had planned a body of divinity, in
a new method, and in the form of a history ; in
which he was first to show, how the most remarka
ble events, in all ages from the fall to the present
times, recorded in sacred and profane history, were
adapted to promote the work of redemption ; and
then to trace, by the light of scripture prophecy,
how the same work should be yet further carried
on even to the end of the world. His heart was
so much set on executing this plan, that he was
considerably averse to accept the presidentship of
Princeton college, lest the duties of that office should
put it out of his power.
The outlines of that work are now offered to the
public, as contained in a series of sermons, preached
at Northampton in 1739,* without any view to
publication. On that account, the reader cannot
reasonably expect all that from them, which he
might justly have expected, had they been written
with such a view, and prepared by the Author's
own hand for the press.
As to elegance of composition, which is now
esteemed so essential to all publications, it is
well known, that the Author did not make that
his chief study. However, his other writings,
though destitute of the ornaments of fine lan-
* This is necessary to be remembered by the reader, in order
o understand some chronological observations in the follow
aig work.
PREFACE. V
guage, have it seems that solid merit, which has
procured both to themselves and to him a consider
able reputation in the world, and with many an
high esteem. It is hoped that the reader will find
in these discourses many traces of plain good sense,
sound reasoning, and thorough knowledge of the
sacred oracles, and real unfeigned piety : and that,
as the plan is new, and many of the sentiments
uncommon, they may afford entertainment and
improvement to the ingenious, the inquisitive, and
the pious reader ; may confirm their faith in God's
government of the world, in our holy Christian
religion in general, and in many of its peculiar doc
trines; may assist in studying with greater plea
sure and advantage the historical and prophetical
books of scripture ; and may excite to a conversa
tion becoming the gospel.
That this volume may produce these happy
effects in all who shall peruse it, is the hearty
desire and prayer of the reader's most humble
servant,
JONATHAN EDWARDS.
New Haven, Feb. 25, 1773.
ADVERTISEMENT.
THEY who have a relish for the study of the scrip
tures, and have access to peruse the following
sheets, will, I am persuaded, deem themselves
much indebted to the Reverend Mr. Edwards of
New Haven for consenting to publish them.
Though the acute philosopher and deep divine
appears in them, yet they are in the general better
calculated for the instruction and improvement of
ordinary Christians, than those of President Ed-
wards's writings, where the abstruse nature of the
subject, or the subtle objections of opposers of the
truth, led him to more abstract and metaphysical
reasonings. The manuscript being entrusted to
my care, I have not presumed to make any change
in the sentiments or composition. I have, how
ever, taken the liberty to reduce it from the form
of sermons, which it originally bore, to that of a
continued treatise; and I have so altered and
diversified the marks of the several divisions and
subdivisions, that each class of heads might be
easily distinguished.
JOHN ERSKINE.
Edinburgh, April 29, 1774.
vii
CONTENTS.
Page
GBNEHAL Introduction, ----- 13
PERIOD I.
From the fall to the incarnation of Christ, 27
PART I.
From the fall to the flood, ... 28
PART II.
From the flood to the calling of Abraham, - - 46
PART III.
From the calling of Abraham to Moses, - 54
PART IV.
From Moses to David, - 68
PART V.
From David to the Babylonish captivity, - - 93
PART VI.
From the Babylonish captivity to the coming of Christ, 124
IMPROVEMENT.
Inspiration, excellency, and usefulness of the books of
the Old Testament, &c. - - • - 157
ix
X CONTENTS.
Pago
PERIOD II.
The time of Christ's humiliation, - - 169
PART I.
Of Christ's becoming incarnate to capacitate himself
for the purchase of redemption, - 170
PART H.
Of the purchase itself, - 178
SECTION I.
What is intended by Christ's purchasing redemption, 178
SECTION II.
General observations concerning those things by which
this purchase was made, - - - -179
SECTION III.
The obedience and sufferings by which Christ pur
chased redemption particularly considered, - - IdSJ
IMPROVEMENT.
SECTION I.
Reproof of unbelief, self-righteousness, and careless
neglect of salvation, ----- 202
SECTION II.
Encouragement to burdened souls to trust in Christ for
salvation, - - - - - -211
PERIOD III.
From Christ's resurrection to the end of the world, - 213
CONTENTS. Z
Page
INTRODUCTION.
General observations concerning this period, - 214
PART I.
Of those things whereby Christ was put into an imme
diate capacity for accomplishing the ends of his pur
chase, - - - - - 224
PART II.
How Christ accomplished this success, - 228
SECTION I.
How this success is accomplished by God's grace here, 228
§ I. The means of this success established after Christ's
resurrection, ------ 228
§ II. The success itself, .... 229
FIRST, In the suffering state of the church, from the
resurrection of Christ to the fall of Antichrist, - 235
I. From Christ's resurrection until the destruction of
Jerusalem, -*•--- 237
II. From the destruction of Jerusalem to the destruc
tion of the heathen empire in the time of Constan-
tine the Great, - 246
INFERENCE, Truth of Christianity argued from the suc
cess of the gospel in both these periods, - - 256
III. Success of redemption from the time of Constan-
tine the Great until the fall of Antichrist, - • 259
1st, From Constantine until the rise of Antichrist, - 260
2dly, From the rise of Antichrist until the Reformation, 264
3dly, From the Reformation until the present time, - 272
1. Of the Reformation itself, - - - 273
2. Of the opposition which the devil has made to the
interests of religion in the churches of the Reforma
tion, - - - - - 275
3. What success the gospel has lately had in these
churches, - .... 282
4. Present state of things with regard to the success
of the gospel, - - - 286
Xi CONTENTS.
APPLICATION.
1. Truth of Christianity argued from the events of this
period, - 290
2. The spirit of true Christians a spirit of suffering, - 300
3. What reason we have to expect that events fore
told in scripture, not yet fulfilled, shall be accom
plished, - - 301
4. How the success of redemption shall be carried
on from the present time until Antichrist is fallen, - 302
SECONDLY, Success of redemption through that space
wherein the Christian church shall for the most
part enjoy prosperity. - - 318
I. Prosperity of the church through the greater part
of this period, - 319
II. The great apostasy that shall take place, and the
danger that shall threaten the church towards the
end of this period, ----- 325
SECTIOW H.
/
How the success of redemption shall be accomplished
in glory, ------ 328
General remarks on this success, ... 329
The particular manner in which this success is ac
complished, ------ 330
IMPROVEMENT OF THE WHOLE.
I. How great a work the work of redemption is, - 344
II. God the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and end
ing of all things, - - 347
III. Christ in all things has the preeminence, -
IV. The consistency, order, and beauty of providence, 350
V. The scriptures the word of God, - - 351
VI. The majesty and power of God in the work of re
demption, - - ... 353
VII. The glorious wisdom of God in the work of re
demption, - .... 355
VIII. The stability of God's mercy and faithfulness to
his people, - - 355
IX. How happy a society the church of Christ is, - 356
X. The misery of those that are not interested in Christ, 357
HISTORY
OF THE
WORK OF REDEMPTION
* For the moth shall eat them up like a garment, and the worm shall
eat them like wool : but my righteousness shall be for ever, and my
salvation from generation to generation." — Isaiah li. 8.
THE design of this chapter is to comfort the church
under her sufferings, and the persecutions of her ene
mies ; and the argument of consolation insisted on is,
the constancy and perpetuity of God's mercy and faith
fulness towards her, which shall be manifest in con
tinuing to work salvation for her, protecting her against
all assaults of her enemies, and carrying her safely
through all the changes of the world, and finally
crowning her with victory and deliverance.
In the text, this happiness of the church of God is set
forth by comparing it with the contrary fate of her
enemies that oppress her. And therein we ma)'- ob
serve,
1. How short lived the power and prosperity of the
church's enemies is : " The moth shall eat them up like
a garment, and the worm shall eat them like wool ;" i. e.
however great their prosperity is, and however great
their present glory, they shall by degrees consume and
vanish away by a secret curse of God, until they come
to nothing; and all their power and glory, and so theii
persecutions, eternally cease, and they be finally and
irrecoverably ruined, as the finest and most glorious
apparel will in time wear away, and be consumed by
moths and rottenness. We learn who those are that
2 13
14 A HISTORY OF THE
shall thus consume away, by the foregoing verse, viz.
those that are the enemies of God's people: "Hearken
unto me, ye that know righteousness, the people in
whose heart is my law ; fear ye not the reproach of men,
neither be ye afraid of their revilings."
2. The contrary happy lot and portion of God's
church, expressed in these words, "My righteousness
shall be for ever, and my salvation from generation to
generation." Who are meant as those that shall have
the benefit of this, we also learn by the preceding verse,
viz. They "that know righteousness," and "the people
in whose heart is God's law ;" or, in one word, the church
of God. And concerning this happiness of theirs here
spoken of, we may observe two things, viz. 1. Wherein
it consists ; 2. Its continuance.
(1.) Wherein it consists, viz. In God's righteousness
and salvation towards them. By God's righteousness
here, is meant his faithfulness in fulfilling his covenant
promises to his church, or his faithfulness towards his
church and people in bestowing the benefits of the cove
nant of grace upon them ; which benefits, though they
are bestowed of free and sovereign grace, as being
altogether undeserved ; yet as God has been pleased,
by the promises of the covenant of grace, to bind him
self to bestow them, so they are bestowed in the exer
cise of God's righteousness or justice. And therefore
the Apostle says, Heb. vi. 10. "God is not unrighteous,
to forget your work and labour of love." And so, 1 John
i. 9. " If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to for
give us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteous
ness." So the word righteousness, is very often used in
Scripture for God's covenant faithfulness; so it is used
in Nehem. ix. 8. "Thou hast performed thy words, for
thou art righteous." So we are often to understand
righteousness and covenant mercy for the same thing;
as Psal. xxiv. 5. "He shall receive the blessing from the
Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation."
Psal. xxxvi. 10. " Continue thy loving kindness to them
that know thee, and thy righteousness to the upright in
heart." And Psal. li. 14. " Deliver me from blood guilti
ness, O God, thou God of my salvation : and my tongue
shall sing aloud of thy righteousness." Dan. ix. 16. " O
Lord, according to thy righteousness, I beseech thee, let
thine anger and thy fury be turned away." — And so in
innumerable other places.
The other word here used is salvation. Of these two
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 15
God's righteousness and his salvation, the one is the
cause, of which the other is the effect. God's righteous
ness, or covenant mercy, is the root of which his salva
tion is the fruit. Both of them relate to the covenant of
grace. The one is God's covenant mercy and faithful
ness, the other intends that work of God by which this
covenant mercy is accomplished in the fruits of it. For
salvation is the sum of all those works of God by which
the benefits that are by the covenant of grace are pro
cured and bestowed.
2. We may observe its continuance, signified here by
two expressions ; for ever, and from generation to gene
ration. The latter seems to be explanatory of the for
mer. The phrase for ever, is variously used in scrip
ture. Sometimes thereby is meant as long as a man
lives. So it is said, the servant that has his ear bored
through with an awl to the door of his master, should
be his for ever. Sometimes thereby is meant during
the continuance of the Jewish state. So of many of the
ceremonial and Levitical laws it is said, that they should
be statutes for ever. Sometimes it means as long as
the world shall stand, or to the end of the generations
of men. So it is said, Eccles. i. 4, " One generation pas-
seth away, and another cometh; but the earth abideth
for ever." Sometimes thereby is meant to all eternity.
So it is said, " God is blessed for ever" Rom. i. 25. And
so it is said, John vi. 51, "If any man eat of this bread,
he shall live for ever." — And which of these senses is
here to be understood, the next words determine, viz.
to the end of the world, or to the end of the generations
of men. It is said in the next words, " and my salvation
from generation to generation" Indeed the fruits of
God's salvation shall remain after the end of the world,
as appears by the 6th verse : *' Lift up your eyes to
the heavens, and look upon the earth beneath: For the
heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth
shall wax old like a garment, and they that dwell therein
shall die in like manner, but my salvation shall be for
ever, and my righteousness shall not be abolished." But
the work of salvation itself toward the church shall con
tinue to be wrought until then: until the end of the
world God will go on to accomplish deliverance and sal
vation for the church, from all her enemies ; for that is
what the prophet is here speaking of; until the end of the
world, until her enemies cease to be, as to any power
to molest the church. And this expression, " from gene-
16 A HISTORY OF THE
ration to generation," may determine us as to the time
which God continues to carry on the work of salvation
for his church, both with respect to the beginning and
end. It is from generation to generation, i. e. through
out all generations ; beginning with the generations of
men on the earth, and not ending until these generations
end, at the end of the world. And therefore we deduce
from these words this
DOCTRINE.
THE WORK OF REDEMPTION IS A WORK THAT GOD CARRIES
ON FROM THE FALL OF MAN TO THE END OF THE WORLD.
THE generations of mankind on the earth did not
begin until after the fall. The beginning of the poste
rity of our first parents was after the fall ; for all their
posterity, by ordinary generation, are partakers of the
fall, and of the corruption of nature that followed from
it ; and these generations, by which the human race is
propagated, shall continue to the end of the world. So
these two are the limits of the generations of men on the
earth ; the fall of man the beginning ; and the end of the
world, or the day of judgment, the end. The same are
the limits of the work of redemption as to those progres
sive works of God, by which that redemption is brought
about and accomplished, though not as to the fruits of it;
for they, as was said before, shall be to all eternity.
The work of redemption and the work of salvation
are the same thing. What is sometimes in scripture
called God's saving his people, is in other places called
his redevming them. So Christ is called both the Saviour
and the Redeemer of his people.
Before entering on the proposed History of the Work
of Redemption, I would
1. Explain the terms made use of in the doctrine; —
and,
2. Show what those things are that are designed tc
be accomplished by this great work of God.
First, I would show in what sense the terms of the
doctrine are used. — And, 1. I would show how I would
be understood when I use the word redemption; — and,
2. How I would be understood when I say, this work is
a work of God carried on from the fall of man to the end
of the world.
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 17
I. I would show how I would be understood when I
use the word redemption. — And here it may be observed,
that the work of redemption is sometimes understood in
a more limited sense, for the purchase of salvation; for
so the word strictly signifies, a purchase of deliverance;
and if we take the word in this restrained sense, the
work of redemption was not so long in doing. But it
was begun and finished with Christ's humiliation. It
was all wrought while Christ was upon earth. It was
begun with Christ's incarnation, and carried on through
Christ's life, and finished with his death, or the time of
his remaining under the power of death, which ended in
his resurrection. And so we say, that the day of Christ's
resurrection is the day when Christ finished the work
of redemption, i. e. then the purchase was finished, and
the work itself, and all that appertained to it, was vir
tually done and finished, but not actually.
But then sometimes the work of redemption is taken
more largely, including all that God works or accom
plishes tending to this end ; not only the purchasing of
redemption, but also all God's works that were properly
preparatory to the purchase, or as applying the purchase
and accomplishing the success of it. So that the whole
dispensation, as it includes the preparation and the pur
chase, and the application and success of Christ's re
demption, is here called the work of redemption. All
that Christ does in this great affair as mediator, in any
of his offices, either of prophet, priest, or king ; either
when he was in this world, in his human nature, or be
fore, or since ; and not only what Christ the mediator
has done, but also what the Father, or the Holy Ghost,
has done, as united or confederated in this design of
redeeming sinful men ; or, in one word, all that is
wrought in the execution of the eternal covenant of re
demption ; this is what I call the work of redemption in
the doctrine ; for it is all but one work, one design. The
various dispensations or works that belong to it, are but
the several parts of one scheme. It is but one design
that is formed, to which all the offices of Christ do
directly tend, and in which all the persons of the Trinity
do conspire, and all the various dispensations that belong
to it are united ; and the several wheels are one machine,
to answer one end, and produce one effect.
II. When I say, this work is carried on from the fall
of man to the end of the world ; in order to the full un-
2*
Jo A HISTORY OP THE
derstanding of my meaning in it, I would desire two or
three things to be observed.
1. That it is not meant, that nothing was done in
order to it before the fall of man. There were many
things done in order to this work of redemption before
that. Some things were done before the world was cre
ated, yea from all eternity. The persons of the Trinity
were as it were confederated in a design and a covenant
of redemption ; in which covenant the Father had ap
pointed the Son, and the Son had undertaken the work ;
and all things to be accomplished in the work were stipu
lated and agreed. And besides these, there were things
done at the creation of the world, in order to that work,
before man fell ; for the world itself seems to have been
created in order to it. The work of creation was in
order to God's works of providence. So that if it be
inquired, Which of these kinds of works are the greatest,
the works of creation or the works of providence! I an
swer, the works of providence ; because God's works
of providence are the end of his works of creation, as
the building an house, or the forming an engine or ma
chine, is for its use. But God's main work of provi
dence is this great work of God that the doctrine speaks
of, as may more fully appear hereafter.
The creation of heaven was in order to the work of
redemption : it was to be an habitation for the redeemed:
Matt. xxv. 34. " Then shall the King say unto them on
his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit
the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of
the world." Even the angels were created to be em
ployed in this work. And therefore the apostle calls
them, " ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them
who shall be heirs of salvation," Heb. i. 14. As to this
lower world, it was doubtless created to be a stage upon
which this great and wonderful work of redemption
should be transacted : and therefore, as might be shown,
in many respects this lower world is wisely fitted, in the
formation, for such a state of man as he is in since the
fall, under a possibility of redemption ; so that when it
is said, that the work of redemption is carried on from
the fall of man to the end of the world, it is not meant,
that all that ever was done in order to redemption has
been done since the fall. Nor,
2. Is it meant that there will be no remaining fruits of
this work after the end of the world. The greatest
fruits of all will be after that. That glory and blessed-
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 19
ness that will be the sum of all the fruits, will remain to
nil the saints after that. The work of redemption is not
an eternal work, i. e. it is not a work always a doing
and never accomplished. But the fruits of this work are
eternal fruits. The work has an issue. But in the issue
the end will be obtained ; which end will never have an
end. As those things that were in order to this work
before the beginning of the world, as God's electing
love, and the covenant of redemption, never had a be
ginning ; so the fruits of this work, that shall be after
the end of the world, never will have an end. And
therefore,
3. When it is said in the doctrine, that this is a work
that God is carrying on from the fall of man to the end
of the world, what I mean is, that those things that be
long to this work itself, and are parts of this scheme, are
all this while accomplishing. There are things that are
in order to it that are before the beginning of it, and
fruits of it that are after it is finished. But the work it
self is so long a doing, even from the fall of man to the
end of the world ; it is all this while a carrying on. It
was begun immediately upon the fall, and will continue
to the end of the world, and then will be finished. The
various dispensations of God that are in this space, do
belong to the same work, and to the same design, and
have all one issue ; and therefore are all to be reckoned
but as several parts of one work, as it were several suc
cessive motions of one machine, to bring about in the
conclusion one great event.
And here also we must distinguish between the parts
of redemption itself, and the parts of the work by which
that redemption is wrought out. There is a difference
between the parts of the benefits procured and bestow
ed, and the parts of the work of God by which those
benefits were procured and bestowed. As, for example,
there is a difference between the parts of the benefit that
the children of Israel received, consisting in their re
demption out of Egypt, and the parts of that work of
God by which this was wrought. The redemption of
the children of Israel out of Egypt, considered as the
benefit which they enjoyed, consisted of two parts, viz.,
their deliverance from their former Egyptian bondage
and misery, and their being brought into a more happy
state, as the servants of God, and heirs of Canaan. But
there are many more things which are parts of that work
of God which is called his work of redemption of Israel
20 A HISTORY OP THE
out of Egypt. To this belongs his calling of Moses, his
sending him to Pharaoh, and all the signs and wonders
he wrought in Egypt, and his bringing such terrible
judgments on the Egyptians, and many other things.
It is this work by which God effects redemption that
we are speaking of. This work is carried on from the
fall of man to the end of the world ; and it is so in two
respects.
(1) With respect to the effect wrought on the souls of
the redeemed ; which is common to all ages from the
fall of man to the end of the world. This effect that I
here speak of, is the application of redemption with re
spect to the souls of particular persons, in converting,
justifying, sanctifying and glorifying of them. By these
things the souls of particular persons are actually re
deemed, and do receive the benefit of the work of re
demption in its effect in their souls. And in this sense
the work of redemption is carried on in all ages of the
world, from the fall of man to the end of the world.
The work of God in converting souls, opening blind
eyes, unstopping deaf ears, raising dead souls to life, and
rescuing the miserable captivated souls out of the hands
of Satan, was begun soon after the fall of man, has been
carried on in the world ever since to this day, and will
be to the end of the world. God has always, ever
since the first erecting of the church of the redeemed
after the fall, had such a church in the world. Though
oftentimes it has been reduced to a very narrow com-
Eass and to low circumstances ; yet it has never wholly
nled.
And as God carries on the work of converting the
souls of fallen men through all these ages, so he goes on
to justify them, to blot out all their sins, and to accept
them as righteous in his sight, through the righteousness
of Christ, and adopt and receive them from being the
children of Satan, to be his own children ; so also he
goes on to sanctify, or to carry on the work of his grace,
which he has begun in them, and to comfort them with
the consolations of his Spirit, and to glprify them, to be
stow upon them, when their bodies die, that eternal glory
which is the fruit of the purchase of Christ. What is
said, Rom. viii. 30, " Whom he did predestinate, them
he also called ; and whom he called, them he also justi
fied ; and whom he justified, them he also glorified :" I
say this is applicable to all ages, from the fall, to the end
of the world.
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 21
The way that the work of redemption, with respect
to these effects of it on the souls of the redeemed, is car
ried on from the fall to the end of the world, is by re
peating and continually working the same work over
again, though in different persons, from age to age.
But,
(2) The work of redemption with respect to the grand
design in general, as it respects the universal subject and
end, is carried on from the fall of man to the end of the
world in a different manner, not merely by repeating or
renewing the same effect in the different subjects of it,
but by many successive works and dispensations of
God, all tending to one great end and effect, all united
as the several parts of a scheme, and all together making
up one great work. Like an house or temple that is
building; first, the workmen are sent forth, then the
materials are gathered, then the ground fitted, then the
foundation is laid, then the superstructure is erected,
one part after another, until at length the top stone is
laid, and all is finished. Now the work of redemption
in that large sense that has been explained, may be com
pared to such a building, that is carrying on from the
fall of man to the end of the world. God went about it
immediately after the fall of man. Some things were
done towards it immediately, as may be shown here
after ; and so God has proceeded, as it were, getting
materials and building, ever since ; and so will proceed
to the end of the world ; and then the time will come
when the top stone shall be brought forth, and all will
appear complete and consummate. The glorious struc
ture will then stand forth in its proper perfection.
This work is carried on in the former respect that has
been mentioned, viz., as to the effect on the souls of par
ticular persons that are redeemed, by its being an effect
that is common to all ages. The work is carried on in
this latter respect, viz., as it respects the church of God,
and the grand design in general, it is carried on, not
only by that which is common to all ages, but by suc
cessive works wrought in different ages, all parts of one
whole, or one great scheme, whereby one work is
brought about by various steps, one step in one age,
and another in another. It is this carrying on of the
work of redemption that I shall chiefly insist upon,
though not excluding the former; for one necessarily
supposes the other.
Having thus explained what I mean by the terms of
22 A HISTORY OF THE
the doctrine ; that you may the more clearly see how
the great design and work of redemption is carried on
from the fall of man to the end of the world ; I say, in
order to this,
I now proceed, in the second place, to show what is
the design of this great work, or what things are de
signed to be done by it. In order to see how a design
is carried on, we must first know what the design is.
To know how a workman proceeds, and to understand
the various steps he takes in order to accomplish a
piece of work, we need to be informed what he is about,
or what the thing is that he intends to accomplish ;
otherwise we may stand by, and see him do one thing
after another, and be quite puzzled and ir> the dark, see
ing nothing of his scheme, and understanding nothing
of what he means by it. If an architect, with a great
number of hands, were a building some great palace,
and one that was a stranger to such things should stand
by, and see some men digging in the earth, others bring
ing timber, others hewing stones, and the like, he might
see that there was a great deal done ; but if he knew
not the design, it would all appear to him confusion.
And therefore, that the great works and dispensations
of God that belong to this great affair of redemption may
not appear like confusion to you, I would set before you
briefly the main things designed to be accomplished in
this great work, to accomplish which God began to work
presently after the fall of man, and will continue working
to the end of the world, when the whole work will ap
pear completely finished. And the main things designed
to be done by it are these that follow.
I. It is to put all God's enemies under his feet, and that
the goodness of God should finally appear triumphing
over all evil. Soon after the world was created, evil
entered into the world in the fall of the angels and man.
Presently after God had made rational creatures, there
were enemies who rose up against him from among
them ; and in the fall of man evil entered into this lower
world, and God's enemies rose up against him here.
Satan rose up against God, endeavouring to frustrate
his design in the creation of this lower world, to destroy
his workmanship here, and to wrest the government of
this lower world out of his hands, and usurp the throne
himself, and set up himself as god of this world instead
of the God that made it. And to these ends he introduced
sin into the world ; and having made man God's enemy,
WORK OP REDEMPTION. 23
he brought guilt on man, and brought death and the
most extreme and dreadful misery into the world.
Now one great design of God in the affair of redemp
tion was, to reduce and subdue those enemies of God,
until they should all be put under God's feet: 1 Cor. xv.
25. " He must reign until he hath put all enemies under
his feet." Things'were originally so planned and de
signed, that he might disappoint and confound, and tri
umph over Satan, and that he might be bruised under
Christ's feet, Gen. iii. 15. The promise was given, that
the seed of the woman should bruise the serpent's head.
It was a part of God's original design in this work, to
destroy the works of the devil, and confound him in all
his purposes : 1 John iii. 8. " For this purpose was the
Son of God manifested, that he might destroy the works
of the devil." It was a part of his design, to triumph
over sin, and over the corruptions of men, and to root
them out of the hearts of his people, by conforming them
to himself. He designed also, that his grace should tri
umph over man's guilt, and that infinite demerit that
there is in sin. Again, it was a part of his design, to
triumph over death ; and however this is the last enemy
that shall be destroyed, yet that shall finally be van
quished and destroyed.
God thus appears gloriously above all evil ; and tri
umphing over all his enemies, was one great thing that
God intended by the work of redemption ; and the work
by which this was to be done, God immediately went
about as soon as man fell ; and so goes on until he fully
accomplishes it in the end of the world.
II. In doing this, God's design was perfectly to restore
all the ruins of the fall, so far as concerns the elect part
of the world, by his Son ; and therefore we read of the
"restitution of all things," Acts iii. 21. "Whom the
heaven must receive, until the times of the restitution
of all things ;" and of the " times of refreshing" from
the presence of the Lord Jesus, Acts iii. 19. "Repent
ye, therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be
blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come
from the presence of the Lord."
Man's soul was ruined by the fall ; the image of God
was ruined ; man's nature was corrupted and destroy
ed, and man became dead in sin. The design of God
was, to restore the soul of man; to restore life to it, and
the image of God, in conversion, and to carry on the res
toration in sanctification, and to perfect it in glory.
24 A HISTORY OP THE
Man's body was ruined ; by the fall it became subject tc
death. The design of God was, to restore it from this
ruin, and not only to deliver it from death in the resur
rection, but to deliver it from mortality itself, in making
it like unto Christ's glorious body. The world was
ruined, as to man, as effectually as if it had been reduced
to chaos again; all heaven and earth were overthrown.
But the design of God was, to restore all, and as it were
to create a new heaven and a new earth: Isa. Ixv. 17.
" Behold, I create new heavens, and a new earth ; and
the former shall not be remembered, nor come into
mind." 2 Pet. iii. 13. "Nevertheless we, according to
his promise, look for new heavens, and a new earth,
wherein dwelleth righteousness."
The work by which this was to be done, was begun
immediately after the fall, and so is carried on until all
is finished at the end, when the whole world, heaven
and earth, shall be restored ; and there shall be, as it
were, new heavens, and a new earth, in a spiritual sense,
at the end of the world. Thus it is represented, Rev.
xxi. 1. "And I saw a new heaven, and a new earth;
for the first heaven and the first earth were passed
away."
III. Another great design of God in the work of re
demption, was to gather together in one all things in
Christ, in heaven and in earth, i. e. all elect creatures ;
to bring all elect creatures, in heaven and in earth, to an
union one to another in one body, under one head, and
to unite all together in one body to God the Father.
This was begun soon after the fall, and is carried on
through all ages of the world, and finished at the end of
the world.
IV. God designed by this work to perfect and com
plete the glory of all the elect by Christ. It was a de
sign of God to advance the elect to an exceeding pitch
of glory, " such as eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, nor
has ever entered into the heart of man." He intended
to bring them to perfect excellency and beauty in his
image, and in holiness, which is the proper beauty of
spiritual beings ; and to advance them to a glorious de
gree of honour, and also to an ineffable pitch of pleasure
and joy; and thus to glorify the whole church of elect
men in soul and body, and with them to bring the glory
of the elect angels to its highest pitch under one head.
The work which tends to this, God began immediately
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 25
after the fall, and carries on through all ages, and will
have perfected at the end of the world.
V. In all this God designed to accomplish the glory of
the blessed Trinity in an exceeding degree. God had a
design of glorifying himself from eternity ; to glorify each
person in the Godhead. The end must be considered as
first in the order of nature, and then the means ; and
therefore we must conceive, that God having professed
this end, had then as it were the means to choose ; and
the principal mean that he pitched upon was this great
work of redemption that we are speaking of. It was his
design in this work to glorify his only begotten Son,
Jesus Christ ; and it was his design, by the Son to glorify
the Father: John xiii. 31, 32. "Now is the Son of Man
glorified, and God is glorified in him. If God be glori
fied in him, God also shall glorify him in himself, and
shall straightway glorify him." It was his design that
the Son should thus be glorified, and should glorify the
Father by what should be accomplished by the Spirit to
the glory of the Spirit, that the whole Trinity, conjunctly,
and each person singly, might be exceedingly glorified.
The work that was the appointed means of this, was be
gun immediately after the fall, and is carried on until,
and finished at, the end of the world, when all this in
tended glory shall be fully accomplished in all things.
Having thus explained the terms made use of in the
doctrine, and shown what the things are which are to
be accomplished by this great work of God, I proceed
now to the proposed History; that is, to show how what
was designed by the work of redemption has been ac
complished, in the various steps of this work, from the
fall of man to the end of the world.
Ip. order to this, I would divide this whole space of
time into three periods : — The
1st, Reaching from the fall of man to the incarnation
of Christ;— the
2d, From Christ's incarnation until his resurrection;
or the whole time of Christ's humiliation; — the
3d, From thence to the end of the world.
It may be some may be ready to think this a very un
equal division ; and it is so indeed in some respects. It
is so, because the second period is so much the greatest.
For although it be so much shorter than either of the
other, being but between thirty and forty years, where
as both the other contain thousands ; yet in this affair
that we are now upon, it is more than both the others.—
3
26 A HISTORY OF THE
I would therefore proceed to show distinctly how tho
work of redemption is carried on from the fall of man to
the end of the world, through each of these periods in
their order; which I would do under three propositions;
one concerning each period.
I. That from the fall of man until the incarnation of
Christ, God was doing those things that were prepara
tory to Christ's coming and working out redemption,
and were forerunners and earnests of it.
II. That the time from Christ's incarnation, until his
resurrection, was spent in procuring and purchasing
redemption.
III. That the space of time from the resurrection of
Christ to the end of the world, is all taken up in bring
ing about or accomplishing the great effect or success
of that purchase.
In a particular consideration of these three proposi
tions, the great truth taught in the doctrine may per
haps appear in a clear light, and we may see how the
work of redemption is carried on from the fall of man to
the end of the world.
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 27
PERIOD I.
FROM THE FALL TO THE INCARNATION.
Mv first task is, to show how the work of redemption is
carried on from the fall of man to the incarnation of
Christ, under the first proposition, viz.
That the space of time from the fall of man to the in
carnation of Christ, was taken up in doing those things
that were forerunners and earnests of Christ's coming
and working out redemption, and were preparatory to
it.
The great works of God in the world during this
whole space of time, were all preparatory to this. There
were many great changes and revolutions in the world,
and they were all only the turning of the wheels of pro
vidence in order to this, to make way for the coming of
Christ, and what he was to do in the world. They all
pointed hither, and all issued here. Hither tended es
pecially all God's great works towards his church. The
church was under various dispensations of providence,
and in very various circumstances, before Christ came.
But all these dispensations were to prepare the way for
his coming. God wrought salvation for the souls of men
through all that space of time, though the number was
very small to what it was afterwards ; and all this salva
tion was, as it were, by way of anticipation. All the
souls that were saved before Christ came, were only as
it were the earnests of the future harvest.
God wrought many lesser salvations and deliverances
for his church and people before Christ came. These
salvations were all but so many images and forerunners
of the great salvation Christ was to work out when he
should come. God revealed himself of old, from time to
time, from the fall of man to the coming of Christ. The
church during that space of time enjoyed the light of di-
28 A HISTORY OF THE
vine revelation, or God's word. They had in a degree
the light of the gospel. But all these revelations were
only so many forerunners and earnests of the great light
that he should bring who came to be the light of the
world. That whole space of time was as it were the
time of night, wherein the church of God was not indeed
wholly without light : but it was like the light of the
moon and stars that we have in the night ; a dim light
in comparison of the light of the sun, and mixed with a
great deal of darkness. It had no glory, by reason of the
glory that excelleth, 2 Cor. iii. 10. The church had in
deed the light of the sun, but it was only as reflected
from the moon and stars. The church all that while was
a minor. This the apostle evidently teaches in Gal. iv.
1, 2, 3. "Now I say, that the heir as long as he is a
child, difFereth nothing from a servant, though he be
lord of all ; but is under tutors and governors, until the
time appointed of the father. Even so we, when we were
children, were in bondage under the elements of the
world."
But here, for the greater clearness and distinctness, I
would subdivide this period, from the fall of man to the
coming of Christ, into six lesser periods, or parts.
1st, Extending from the fall to the flood ;
2d, From thence to the calling of Abraham ;
3d, From thence to Moses ;
4th, From thence to David ;
5th, From David to the captivity into Babylon ;
6th, From thence to the incarnation of Christ.
PART I.
FROM THE FALL TO THE FLOOD.
THIS was a period farthest of all distant from Christ's in
carnation ; yet then this great work was begun to be
carried on ; then was this "glorious building begun, that
will not be finished until the end of the world, as I would
now show you how. And to this purpose I would ob
serve,
\VURK OP REDEMPTION. 29
I. As soon as ever man fell, Christ entered on his me
diatorial work. Then it was that Christ first took on
him the work and office of a mediator. He had under
taken it before the world was made. He stood engaged
with the Father to appear as man's mediator, and to
take on him that office when there should be occasion,
from all eternity. But now the time was come. When
man fell, then the occasion came ; and then Christ im
mediately, without further delay, entered on his work,
and took on him that office that he had stood engaged
to take on him from eternity. As soon as ever man fell,
Christ the eternal Son of God clothed himself with the
mediatorial character, and therein presented himself be
fore the Father. He immediately stepped in between an
holy, infinite, offended Majesty, and offending mankind ;
and was accepted in his interposition ; and so wrath was
prevented from going forth in the full execution of that
amazing curse that man had brought on himself.
It is manifest that Christ began to exercise the office
of mediator between God and man as soon as ever man
fell, because mercy began to be exercised towards man
immediately. There was mercy in the forbearance of
God. that he did -not destroy him, as he did the angels
when they fell. But there is no mercy exercised toward
fallen man but through a mediator. If God had not in
mercy restrained Satan, he would immediately have
seized on his prey. Christ began to do the part of an
intercessor for man as soon as he fell. There is no
mercy exercised towards man but what is obtained
through Christ's intercession; so that now Christ was
entered on his work that he was to continue in through
out all ages of the world. From that day forward Christ
took on him the care of the church of the elect: He took
on him the care of fallen man in the exercise of all his
offices; he undertook thenceforward to teach mankind
in the exercise of his prophetical office ; and also to in
tercede for fallen man in his priestly office ; and he took
on him, as it were, the care and burden of the govern
ment of the church, and of the world of mankind, from
this day forward. He from that time took upon him the
care of the defence of his elect church from all their
enemies. When Satan, the grand enemy, had conquered
and overthrown man, the business of resisting and con
quering him was committed to Christ. He thencefor
ward undertook to manage that subtle powerful adver
sary. He was then appointed the Captain of the Lord's
3*
30 A HISTORY OP THE
hosts, and the Captain of their salvation, and always
acted as such thenceforward : and so he appeared from
time to time, and he will continue to act as such to the
end of the world. Henceforward this lower world, with
all its concerns, was, as it were, devolved upon the Son
of God : for when man had sinned, God the Father
would have no more to do with man immediately ; he
would no more have any immediate concern with this
world of mankind, that had apostatized from and rebelled
against him. He would henceforward have no concern
with man, but only through a mediator, either in teach
ing men, or in governing or bestowing any benefits on
them.
And therefore, when we read in sacred history what
God did from time to time towards his church and
people, and what he said to them, and how he revealed
himself to them, we are to understand it especially of
the second person of the Trinity. When we read of
God's appearing after the fall, from time to time, in some
visible form or outward symbol of his presence, we are
ordinarily, if not universally, to understand it of the
second person of the Trinity: which may be argued
from John i. 18. " No man hath seen God at any time;
the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Fa
ther, he hath declared him." He is therefore called " the
image of the invisible God," Col. i. 15, intimating, that
though God the Father be invisible, yet Christ is his
image or representation, by which he is seen, or by
which the church of God hath often had a representa
tion of him, that is not invisible, and in particular that
Christ has after appeared in an human form.
Yea, not only was this lower world devolved on Christ,
that he might have the care and government of it, and
order it agreeably to his design of redemption, but also
in some respect the whole universe. The angels from
that time were committed to him, to be subject to him in
his mediatorial office, to be ministering spirits to him in
this affair; and accordingly were so from this time for
ward, as is manifest by the scripture history, wherein
we have accounts from time to time of their acting as
ministering spirits in the affairs of the church of Christ.
And therefore we may suppose, that immediately on
the fall of man, it was made known in heaven among the
angels, that God had a design of redemption with respect
to fallen man, and that Christ had now taken upon him
the office and work of a mediator between God and man,
WORK OF REDEMPTION. J
tnat they might know their business hence-' vr^{). which
was to be subservient to Christ, in this < JTice. And as
Christ, in this office, has since that, as Go-..i-man and Me
diator, been solemnly exalted and install jd the King of
heaven, and is thenceforward as God-man, Mediator, the
-light, and as it were, the Sun of heaven, agreeable to
Rev. xxi. 23 ; " And the city had no need of the sun,
neither of the moon, to shine in it ; for the glory of God
did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof;" so this
revelation that was made in heaven among the angels,
of Christ's now having taken on him the office of a medi
ator between God and man, was as it were the first
dawning of this light in heaven. When Christ ascended
into heaven after his passion, and was solemnly installed
in the throne as King of heaven, then this sun rose in
heaven, even the Lamb that is the light of the new Jeru
salem. But the light began to dawn immediately after
the fall.
II. Presently upon this the gospel was first revealed
on earth, in these words, Gen. iii. 15, "And I will pufc
enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy
seed and her seed. It shall bruise thy head, and thou
shalt bruise his heel." We must suppose, that God's in
tention of redeeming fallen man was first signified in
heaven, before it was signified on earth, because the
business of the angels as ministering spirits of the Medi
ator required it ; for as soon as ever Christ had taken
on him the work of a mediator, it was requisite that the
angels should be ready immediately to be subservient to
him in that office: so that the light first dawned in hea
ven; but very soon after the same was signified on
earth. In those words of God there was an intimation
of another surety to be appointed for man, after the first
surety had failed. This was the first revelation of the
covenant of grace ; this was the first dawning of the
light of the gospel on earth.
This lower world before the fall enjoyed noonday
light ; the light of the knowledge of God, the light of his
glory, and the light of his favour. But when man fell,
all this light was at once extinguished, and the world
reduced back again to total darkness; a worse darkness
than that which was in the beginning of the world, that
we read of, Gen. i. 2; "And the earth was without
form, and void, and darkness was upon the face of the
deep." This was a darkness a thousand times more
remediless than that. Neither men nor angels could find
32 A HISTORY OF THE
out any way whereby this darkness might be scattered.
This darkness appeared in its blackness then, when
Adam and his wife saw that they were naked, and
sewed fig leaves, and when they heard the voice of the
Lord God walking in the garden, and hid themselves
among the trees of the garden; and when God first call
ed them to an account, and said to Adam, "What is
this that thou hast done]— Hast thou eaten of the tree,
whereof I commanded thee, that thou shouldest not eat ?"
Then we may suppose that their hearts were filled with
shame and terror. But these words of God, Gen. iii. 15.
were the first dawning of the light of the gospel after
this darkness. Now first appeared some glimmering of
light after this dismal darkness, which before this was
without one glimpse of light, any beam of comfort, or
any the least hope. It was an obscure revelation of the
gospel; and was not made to Adam or Eve direct
ly, but it was in what God said to the serpent. But yet
it was very comprehensive, as might be easily shown,
would it not take up too much time.
Here was a certain intimation of a merciful design by
" the seed of the woman," which was like the first glim
merings of the light of the sun in the east when the day
first dawns. This intimation of mercy was given them
even before sentence was pronounced on eTther Adam
or Eve, from tenderness to them, to whom God de
signed mercy, lest they should be overborne with a sen
tence of condemnation, without having any thing held
forth whence they could gather any hope.
One of those great things that were intended to be
done by the work of redemption, is more plainly inti
mated here than the rest, viz. God's subduing his ene
mies under the feet of his Son. This was threatened
now, and God's design of this was now first declared,
which was the work Christ had now undertaken, and
which he soon began, and carried on thenceforward, and
will perfectly accomplish at the end of the world. Satan
probably had triumphed greatly in the fall of man, as
though he had defeated the designs of God in the crea
tion of man and the world in general. But. in these
words God gives him a plain intimation, that he should
not finally triumph, but that a complete victory and tri
umph should be obtained over him by the seed of the
woman.
This revelation of the gospel in this verse was the first
thing that Christ did in his prophetical office. You may
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 33
remember, that, it was said in the first of those three pro
positions that have been mentioned, that from the fall of
man to the incarnation of Christ, God was doing those
things that were preparatory to Christ's coming and
working out redemption, and were forerunners and
earnests of it. And one of those things which God did
in this time to prepare the way for Christ's coming into
the world, was to fbretel and promise it, as he did from
time to time, from age to age, until Christ came. This
was the first promise that ever was given of it, the first
prediction that ever was made of it on earth.
III. Soon after this, the custom of sacrificing was ap
pointed, to be a steady type of the sacrifice of Christ un
til he should come, and offer up himself a sacrifice to
God. Sacrificing was not a custom first established by
the Levitical law of Moses ; for it had been a part of
God's instituted worship long before, even from the be
ginning of God's visible church on earth. We read of
the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, offering sac
rifice, and before them Noah, and before him Abel. And
this was by divine appointment; for it was a part of
God's worship in his church, that was offered up in faith,
and that he accepted : which proves that it was by his
institution ; for sacrificing is no part of natural worship.
The light of nature doth not teach men to offer up beasts
in sacrifice to God; and seeing it was not enjoined by
the law of nature, if it was acceptable to God, it must be
by some positive command or institution; for God has
declared his abhorrence of such worship as is taught by
the precept of men without his institution; Isa. xxix. 13.
" Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people
draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do
honour me, but have removed their heart far from me,
and their fear towards me is taught by the precept of
men ; therefore behold, I will proceed to do a marvellous
work," &c. And such worship as hath not a warrant
from divine institution, cannot be offered up in faith, be
cause faith has no foundation where there is no divine
appointment. It cannot be offered up in faith of God's
acceptance; for men have no warrant to hope for God's
acceptance, in that which is not of his appointment, and
in that to which he hath not promised his acceptance :
and therefore it follows, that the custom of offering
sacrifices to God was instituted soon after the fall;
for the scripture teaches us, that Abel offered "the
firstlings of his flock, and of the fat thereof," Gen. iv
34 A HISTORY OF THE
4. and that he was accepted of God in this offering,
Heb. xi. 4. And there is nothing in the story that looks
as though the institution was first given then when Abel
offered up that sacrifice to God ; but it appears as though
Abel only therein complied with a custom already estab
lished.
And it is very probable that it was instituted immedi
ately after God had revealed the covenant of grace, in
Gen. iii. 15, which covenant and promise was the foun
dation on which the custom of sacrificing was built.
That promise was the first stone that was laid towards
this glorious building, the work of redemption, which
will be finished at the end of the worlr1. And the next
stone which was laid upon that, was the institution of
sacrifices, to be a type of the great sacrifice.
The next thing that we have an account of after God
had pronounced sentence on the serpent, on the woman,
and on the man, was, that God made them coats of
skins, and clothed them ; which, by the generality of
divines, are thought to be the skins of beasts slain in
sacrifice ; for we have no account of anything else that
should be the occasion of man's slaying beasts, but only
to offer them in sacrifice, until after the flood. Men
were not wont to eat the flesh of beasts as their common
food until after the flood. The first food of man in par
adise before the fall was the fruit of the trees of para
dise ; and when he was turned out of paradise after the
fall, then his food was the herb of the field : Gen. iii. 18,
" And thou shalt eat of the herb of the field." The first
grant that he had to eat flesh as his common food was
after the flood ; Gen. ix. 3, " Every moving thing that
liveth shall be meat for you ; even as the green herb
have I given you all things." So that it is likely that
these skins that Adam and Eve were clothed with, were
the skins of their sacrifices. God's clothing them with
these was a lively figure of their being clothed with the
righteousness of Christ. This clothing was no clothing
of their own obtaining; but it was God that gave it
them. It is said, " God made them coats of skins, and
clothed them ;" as the righteousness our naked souls
are clothed with, is not our righteousness, but the right
eousness which is of God. It is he only clothes the naked
soul.
Our first parents, who were naked, were clothed at
the expense of life. Beasts were slain, and resigned up
their lives a sacrifice to God, to afford clothing to them
WORK OP REDEMPTION. 35
to cover their nakedness. So doth Christ, to afford
clothing to our naked souls. The skin signifies the life :
So, Job ii. 4, " Skin for skin, yea all that a man hath will
he give for his life ;" i. e. life for life. Thus our first pa
rents were covered with skins of sacrifices, as the taber
nacle in the wilderness, which signified the church, was,
when it was covered with rams' skins dyed red, as
though they were dipped in blood, to signify that Christ's
righteousness was wrought out through the pains of
death, under which he shed his precious blood.
We observed before, that the light that the church en
joyed from the fall of man, until Christ came, was like
the light which we enjoy in the night ; not the light of
the sun directly, but as reflected from the moon and
stars ; which light did foreshow Christ the Sun of right
eousness that was afterwards to arise. This light of the
Sun of righteousness to come they had chiefly two ways :
One was by predictions of Christ to come, whereby his
coming was foretold and promised ; the other was by
types and shadows, whereby his coming and redemption
were prefigured. The first thing that was done to pre
pare the way for Christ in the former of these ways, was
in that promise that was just taken notice of in the fore
going particular ; and the first thing of the latter kind,
viz., of types, to foreshow Christ's coming, was that in
stitution of sacrifices that we are now upon. As that
promise in Gen. iii. 15, was the first dawn of gospel light
after the fall in prophecy ; so the institution of sacrifices
was the first hint of it in types. The giving of that pro
mise was the first thing that was done after the fall, in
this work, in Christ's prophetical office ; the institution
of sacrifices was the first thing that we read of after the
fall, by which especially Christ exhibited himself in his
priestly office.
The institution of sacrifices was a great thing done
towards preparing the way for Christ's coming, and
working out redemption. For the sacrifices of the Old
Testament were the main of all the Old Testament types
of Christ and his redemption ; and it tended to establish
in the minds of God's visible church the necessity of a
propitiatory sacrifice, in order to the Deity's being satis
fied for sin ; and so prepared the way for the reception
of the glorious gospel, that reveals the great sacrifice in
the visible church, and not only so, but through the
world of mankind. For from this institution of sacrifices
that was after the fall, all nations derived the custom of
36 A HISTORY OF THE
sacrificing. For this custom of offering up sacrifices to
the gods, to atone for their sins, was common to all na
tions. No nation, however barbarous, was found with
out it any where. This is a great evidence of the truth
of the Christian religion ; for no nation, but only the
Jews, could tell how they came by this custom, or to
what purpose it was to offer sacrifices to their deities.
The light of nature did not teach them any such thing.
That did not teach them that the gods were hungry, and
fed upon the flesh which they burnt in sacrifice ; and yet
they all had this custom ; of which no other account can
be given, but that they derived it from Noah, who had
it from his ancestors, on whom God had enjoined it as a
type of the great sacrifice of Christ. However, by this
means all nations of the world had their minds possess
ed with this notion, that an atonement or sacrifice for
sin was necessary; and a way was made for their more
readily receiving the great doctrine of the gospel of
Christ, which teaches us the atonement and sacrifice of
Christ.
IV. God did soon after the fall begin actually to save
the souls of men through Christ's redemption. In this
Christ, who had lately taken upon him the work of Me
diator between God and man, did first begin that work,
wherein he appeared in the exercise of his kingly office,
as in the sacrifices he was represented in his priestly
office, and in the first prediction of redemption by Christ
he had appeared in the exercise of his prophetical office.
In that prediction the light of Christ's redemption first
began to dawn in the prophecies of it ; in the institution
of sacrifices it first began to dawn in the types of it ; in
this, viz., his beginning actually to save men, it first be
gan to dawn in the fruit of it.
It is probable, therefore, that Adam and Eve were the
first fruits of Christ's redemption ; it is probable by God's
manner of treating them, by his comforting them as he
did, after their awakenings and terrors. They were
awakened, and ashamed with a sense of their guilt, after
their fall, when their eyes were opened, and they saw
that they were naked, and sewed fig leaves to cover
their nakedness; as the sinner, under the first awaken
ings, is wont to endeavour to hide the nakedness of his
•soul, by patching up a righteousness of his own. Then
they were further terrified and awakened, by hearing
the voice of God, as he was coming to condemn them
Their coverings of fig leaves do not answer the purpose,
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 37
but notwithstanding these, they ran to hide themselves
among the trees of the garden, because they were naked,
not daring to trust to their fig leaves to hide their naked
ness from God. Then they were further awakened by
God's calling of them to a strict account. But while
their terrors were raised to such a height, and they
stood, as we may suppose, trembling and astonished
before their judge, without any thing to catch hold of
whence they could gather any hope, then God took care
to hold forth some encouragement to them, to keep them
from the dreadful effects of despair under their awaken
ings, by giving a hint of a design of mercy by a Saviour,
even before he pronounced sentence against them. And
when after this he proceeded to pronounce sentence,
whereby we may suppose their terrors were further
raised, God soon after took care to encourage them, and
to let them see, that he had not wholly cast them off, by
taking a fatherly care of them in their fallen, naked, and
miserable state, by making them coats of skins and
clothing them. Which also manifested an acceptance
of those sacrifices that they offered to God for sin, that
those were the skins of, which were types of what God
had promised, when he said, " The seed of the woman
shall bruise the serpent's head :" which promise, there
is reason to think, they believed and embraced. Eve
seems plainly to express her hope in and dependence on
that promise, in what she says at the birth of Cain, Gen.
iv. 1. "I have gotten a man from the Lord;" i. e. as
God has promised, that my seed should bruise the serpent's
head ; so now has God given me this pledge and token
of it, that I have a seed born. She plainly owns, that
this her child was from God, and hoped that her promis
ed seed was to be of this her eldest son ; though she was
mistaken, as Abraham was with respect to Ishmael, as
Jacob was with respect to Esau, and as Samuel was
with respect to the first born of Jesse. And especially
does what she said at the birth of Seth express her hope
and dependence on the promise of God ; see ver. 25.
" For God hath appointed me another seed, instead of
Abel, whom Cain slew."
Thus it is exceeding probable, if not evident, that as
Christ took on him the work of Mediator as soon as man
fell ; so that he now immediately began his work of rer
demption in its effect, and that he immediately encoun
tered his great enemy the devil, whom he had under
taken to conquer, a^nd rescued those two first captives
4
38 A HISTORY OF THE
out of his hands; therein baffling him, soon after his tri
umph for the victory he had obtained over them, where
by he had made them his captives. And though he was,
as it were, sure of them and all their posterity, Christ
the Redeemer soon showed him, that he was mistaken,
and that he was able to subdue him, and deliver fallen
man. He let him see it, in delivering those first captives
of his ; and so soon gave him an instance of the fulfil
ment of that threatening, "The seed of the woman shall
bruise the serpent's head;" and in this instance a pre
sage of the fulfilment of one great thing he had under
taken, viz. his subduing all his enemies under his feet.
After this we have another instance of redemption in
one of their children, viz. in righteous Abel, as the scrip
ture calls him, whose soul perhaps was the first that
went to heaven through Christ's redemption. In him
we have at least the first instance of the death of a re
deemed person that is recorded in scripture. If he was
the first, then as the redemption of Christ began to dawn
before in the souls of men in their conversion and justi
fication, in him it first began to dawn in glorification ;
and in him the angels began first to do the part of min
istering spirits to Christ, in going forth to conduct the
souls of the redeemed to glory. And in him the elect
angels in heaven had the first opportunity to see so won
derful a thing as the soul of one of the fallen race of man
kind, that had been sunk by the fall into such an abyss
of sin and misery, brought to heaven, and in the enjoy
ment of heavenly glory, which was a much greater thing
than if they had seen him returned to the earthly para
dise. Thus they by this saw the glorious effect of
Christ's redemption, in the great honour and happiness
that was procured for sinful miserable creatures by it.
V. The next remarkable thing that God did in the
farther carrying on of this great affair of redemption,
that I shall take notice of, was the first remarkable pour
ing out of the Spirit through Christ that ever was, which
was in the days of Enos. This seems to have been the
next remarkable thing that was done toward erecting
this glorious building that God had begun and laid the
foundation of in Christ the Mediator. We read, Gen.
iv. 26. " Then began men to call upon the name of the
Lord." The meaning of these words has been consid
erably controverted among divines. We cannot sup
pose the meaning is, that that time was the first that
ever man performed the duty of prayer. Prayer is a
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 39
duty of natural religion, and a duty to which a spirit of
piety does most naturally lead men. Prayer is as it
were the very breath of a spirit of piety ; and we cannot
suppose therefore, that those holy men that had been be
fore for above two hundred years, had lived all that
while without any prayer. Therefore some divines
think, that the meaning is, that then men first began to
Crform public worship, or to call upon the name of the
>rd in public assemblies. Whether it be so to be un
derstood or no, yet so much must necessarily be under
stood by it, viz. that there was something new in the
visible church of God with respect to the duty of prayer,
or calling upon the name of the Lord ; that there was a
great addition to the performance of this duty; and that
in some respect or other it was carried far beyond what
it ever had been before, which must be the consequence
of a remarkable pouring out of the Spirit of God.
If it was now first that men were stirred up to get to
gether in assemblies to help and assist one another in
seeking God, so as they never had done before, it argues
something extraordinary as the cause; and could be
from nothing but uncommon influences of God's Spirit.
We see by experience, that a remarkable pouring out
of God's Spirit is always attended with such an effect,
viz. a great increase of the performance of the duty of
prayer. When the Spirit of God begins a work on men's
hearts, it immediately sets them to calling on the name
of the Lord. As it was with Paul after the Spirit of God
had laid hold of him, then the next news is, " Behold, he
prayeth !" so it has been in all remarkable pourings out
of the Spirit of God that we have any particular account
of in scripture ; and so it is foretold it will be at the great
pouring out of the Spirit of God in the latter days. It is
foretold, that it will be poured out as a spirit of grace
and supplications, Zech. xii. 10. See also Zeph. iii. 9.
" For then will I turn to the people a pure language, that
they may all call upon the name of the Lord, to serve him
with one consent."
And when it is said, " Then began men to call upon
the name of the Lord," no more can be intended by it,
than that this was the first remarkable season of this na
ture that ever was. It was the beginning, or the first,
of such a kind of work of God, such a pouring out of the
Spirit of God. After such a manner such an expression
is commonly used in scripture: So, 1 Sam. xiv. 35.
" And Saul built an altar unto the Lord ; the same was
40 A HISTORY OF THE
the first altar that he built unto the Lord." In the He-
brew it is, as you may see in the margin, " that altar he
began to build unto the Lord." Heb. ii. 3. "How shall
we escape if we neglect so great salvation, which first
began to be spoken by the Lord T'
It may here be observed, that from the fall of man, to
this day wherein we live, the work of redemption in its
effect has mainly been carried on by remarkable pour
ings out of the Spirit of God. Though there be a more
constant influence of God's Spirit always in some degree
attending his ordinances; yet the way in which the
greatest things have been done towards carrying on this
work, always has been by remarkable pourings out of
the Spirit at special seasons of mercy, as may fully ap
pear hereafter in our further prosecution of the subject
we are upon. And this pouring out of the Spirit in the
days of Enos, was the first remarkable pouring out of
the Spirit of God that ever was. There had been a sav
ing work of God on the hearts of some before ; but now
God was pleased to grant a more large effusion of his
Spirit, for the bringing in an harvest of souls to Christ ;
so that in this we see that great building that is the sub
ject of our present discourse, which God laid the foun
dation of immediately after the fall of man, carried on
further, and built higher, than ever it had been before.
VI. The next thing I shall take notice of, is the emi
nently holy life of Enoch, who we have reason to think
was a saint of greater eminency than any ever had been
before him ; so that in this respect the work of redemp
tion was carried on to a greater height than ever it had
been before. With respect to its effect in the visible
church in general, we observed just now how it was
carried higher in the days of Enos than ever it had been
before. Probably Enoch was one of the saints of that
harvest ; for he lived all the days that he did live on
earth, in the days of Enos. And with respect to the de
gree to which this work was carried in the soul of a par
ticular person, it was raised to a greater height in Enoch
than ever before. His soul, as it was built on Christ,
was built up in holiness to a greater height than there
had been any instance of before. He was a wonderful in
stance of Christ's redemption, and the efficacy of his grace.
VII. In Enoch's time, God did more expressly reveal
the coming of Christ than he had done before, in the pro
phecy of Enoch that we have an account of in the 14th
and 15th verses of the epistle of Jude : " And Enoch also,
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 4
the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Be
hold, the Lord cometh with ten thousand of his saints,
to execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that
are ungodly among them, of their ungodly deeds which
they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard
speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against
him." Here Enoch prophesies of the coming of Christ.
It does not seem to be confined to any particular coming
of Christ ; but it has respect in general to Christ's com
ing in his kingdom, and is fulfilled in a degree in both
the first and second coming of Christ ; and indeed in
every remarkable manifestation Christ has made of him
self in the world, for the saving of his people, and the de
stroying of his enemies. It is very parallel in this re
spect with many other prophecies of the coming of Christ,
that were given under the Old Testament ; and, in par
ticular, it seems to be parallel with that great prophecy
of Christ's coming in his kingdom that we have in the
7th chapter of Daniel, whence the Jews principally took
their notion of the kingdom of heaven. See ver. 10. "A
fiery stream issued, and came forth from before him:
thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thou
sand times ten thousand stood before him : the judg
ment was set, and the books were opened." And ver.
13, 14. "I saw in the night visions, and behold, one like
the Son of Man, came with the clouds of heaven, and
came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought him near
before him. And there was given him dominion, and
glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and lan
guages, should serve him. His dominion is an everlast
ing dominion, which shall not pass away, and his king
dom that which shall not be destroyed." And though it
is not unlikely that Enoch might have a more immediate
respect in this prophecy to the approaching destruction
of the old world by the flood, which was a remarkable
resemblance of Christ's destruction of all his enemies at
his second coming, yet it doubtless looked beyond the
type to the antitype.
And as this prophecy of Christ's coming is more ex
press than any had been before ; so it is an instance of
the increase of that gospel light that began to dawn pre
sently after the fall of man ; and is an instance of that
building that is the subject of our present discourse, be
ing yet further carried on, and built up higher than ever
it had been before.
And here, by the way, I would observe, that the in-
42 A HISTORY OP THE
crease of gospel light, and the carrying on the work of
redemption, as it respects the elect church in general,
from the first erecting of the church to the end of the
world, is very much after the same manner as the carry
ing on of the same work and the same light in a particu
lar soul, from the time of its conversion, until it is per
fected and crowned in glory. The work in a particular
soul has its ups and downs ; sometimes the light shines
brighter, and sometimes it is a dark time ; sometimes
grace seems to prevail, at other times it seems to lan
guish for a great while together, and corruption prevails,
and then grace revives again. But in general, grace is
growing. From its first infusion, until it is perfected in
glory, the kingdom of Christ is building up in the soul.
So it is with respect to the great affair in general, as
it relates to the universal subject of it, as it is carried on
from the first beginning of it, after the fall, until it is per
fected at the end of the world, as will more fully appear
by a particular view of this affair from beginning to end,
in the prosecution of this subject, if God give opportunity
to carry it through as I propose.
VIII. The next remarkable thing towards carrying on
this work, that we have an account of in scripture, is
the translation of Enoch into heaven. The account we
have of it is in Gen. v. 24. " And Enoch walked with
God, and he was not ; for God took him." Here Moses,
in giving an account of the genealogy of those that were
of the line of Noah, does not say concerning Enoch, he
lived so long and he died, as he does of the rest; but, he
was not, for God took him ; i. e. he translated him ; in body
and soul carried him to heaven without dying, as it is
explained in Heb. xi. 5. " By faith Enoch was translated
that he should not see death." By this wonderful work
of God, the work of redemption was carried to a greater
height in several respects, than it had been before.
You may remember, that when I was showing what
were the great things that God aimed at in the work of
redemption, or what the main things were that he in
tended to bring to pass ; I among other things mention
ed (p. 23.) the perfect restoring the ruins of the fall with
respect to the elect, and restoring man from that destruc
tion that he had brought on himself, both in soul and
body. Now this translation of Enoch was the first in
stance that ever was of restoring the ruins of the fall
with respect to the body. There had been many in-
stances of restoring the soul of man by Christ's redemp-
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 43
tion, but none of redeeming and actually saving the body
until now. All the bodies of the elect are to be saved as
well as their souls. At the end of the world, all the bo
dies of the saints shall actually be redeemed; those that
then shall have been dead, by a resurrection ; and others,
that then shall be living, by causing them to pass under
a glorious change. There was a number of the bodies
of saints raised and glorified, at the resurrection and as
cension of Christ; and before that there was an instance
of a body glorified in Elijah. But the first instance of
all was this of Enoch, that we are now speaking of.
And the work of redemption by this was carried on
further than ever it had been before ; as, by this wonder
ful work of God, there was a great increase of gospel
light to the church of God, in this respect, that hereby
the church had a clearer manifestation of a future state,
and of the glorious reward of the saints in heaven. We
are told, 2 Tim. i. 10. " That life and immortality are
brought to light by the gospel." And the more of this is
brought to light, the more clearly does the light shine in
that respect. What was said in the Old Testament of a
future state, is very obscure, in comparison with the
more full, plain, and abundant revelation given of it in
the New. But yet even in those early days, the church
of God, in this instance, was favoured with an instance
of it set before their eyes, in that one of their brethren
was actually taken up to heaven without dying ; which
we have all reason to think the church of God knew
then, as they afterwards knew Elijah's translation. And
as this was a clearer manifestation of a future state than
the church had had before, so it was a pledge or earnest
of that future glorification of all the saints which God in
tended through the redemption of Jesus Christ.
IX. The next thing that I shall observe, was the up
holding the church of God in the family of which Christ
was to proceed, in the time of that great and general de
fection of the world of mankind that was before the
flood. The church of God, in all probability, was small,
in comparison with the rest of the world, from the be
ginning of the time that mankind first began to multiply
on the face of the earth, or from the time of Cain's de
fection, and departing from among the people of God ;
the time we read of, Gen. iv. 16. When " Cain went out
from the presence of the Lord, and dwelt in the land of
Nod ;" which being interpreted, is the land of banish
ment : I say, from this time of Cain's departure and sep-
44
A HISTORY OF THE
aration from the church of God, it is probable that the
church of God was small in comparison with the rest of
the world. The church seems to have been kept up
chiefly in the posterity of Seth ; for this was the seed
that God appointed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew,
But we cannot reasonably suppose, that Seth's posterity
were one fiftieth part of the world: "For Adam was one
hundred and thirty years old when Seth was born."
But Cain, who seems to have been the ringleader of
those that were not of the church, was Adam's eldest
child, and probably was born soon after the fall, which
doubtless was soon after Adam's creation ; so that there
was time for Cain to have many sons before Seth was
born, and besides many other children, that probably
Adam and Eve had before this time, agreeably to God's
blessing that he gave them, when he said, " Be fruitful,
and multiply, and replenish the earth:" and many of
these children might have children. The story of Cain
before Seth was born, seems to represent as though
there were great numbers of men on the earth: Gen. iv.
14, 15. "Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from
the face of the earth : and from thy face shall I be hid,
and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth ;
and it shall come to pass, that every one that findeth me
shall slay me. And the Lord said unto him, Therefore
whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on
him seven-fold. And the Lord set a mark upon Cain,
lest any finding him should kill him." And all those that
were then in being when Seth was born, must be sup
posed then to stand in equal capacity of multiplying their
posterity with him ; and therefore, as I said before, Seth's
posterity were but a small part of the inhabitants of the
world.
But after the days of Enos and Enoch, (for Enoch was
translated before Enos died ;) I say, after their days, the
church of God greatly diminished, in proportion as mul
titudes that were of the line of Seth, and had been born
in the church of God, fell away, and joined with the
wicked world, principally by means of intermarriages
with them ; as Gen. vi. 1, 2. & 4. " And it came to pass,
when men began to multiply on the face of the earth,
and daughters were born unto them, that the sons of
God saw the daughters of men, that they were fair; and
they took them wives of all which they chose. — There
were giants in the earth in those days ; and also after
that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 45
of men, and they bare children to them, the same be
came mighty men, which were of old, men of renown."
By the sons of God here, are doubtless meant the child
ren of the church. It is a denomination often given them
in scripture. They intermarried with the wicked world,
and so had their hearts led away from God ; and there
was a great and continual defection from the church.
And the church of God, that used to be a restraint on
the wicked world, diminished exceedingly, and so wick
edness went on without restraint. And Satan, that old
serpent the devil, that tempted our first parents, and set
up himself as god of this world, raged exceedingly; and
every imagination of the thoughts of man's heart was
only evil continually, and the earth was filled with vio
lence. It seemed to be deluged with wickedness now,
as it was with water afterwards : and mankind in gen
eral were drowned in this deluge ; almost all were swal
lowed up in it. And now Satan made a most violent
and potent attempt to swallow up the church of God ;
and had almost done it. But yet God restored it in the
midst of all this flood of wickedness and violence. He
kept it up in that line of which Christ was to proceed.
He would not suffer it to be destroyed, for a blessing
was in it. The Lord the Redeemer was in this branch
of mankind, and was afterwards to proceed from it.
There was a particular family that was a root in which
the great Redeemer of the world was, and whence the
branch of righteousness was afterwards to shoot forth.
And therefore, however the branches were lopped off,
and the tree seemed to be destroyed; yet God, in the
midst of all this, kept alive this root, by his wonderful
redeeming power and grace, so that the gates of hell
could not prevail against it.
Thus I have shown how God carried on the great af
fair of redemption ; how the building went on that God
began after the fall, during this first period of the times
of the Old Testament, viz. from the fall of man, until God
brought the flood on the earth. And I would take no
tice upon it, that though the history which Moses gives
of the great works of God during that space be very
short; yet it is exceeding comprehensive and instruc
tive. And it may also be profitable for us here to ob
serve, the efficacy of that purchase of redemption that
had such great effects even in the old world so many
ages before Christ appeared himself to purchase redemp-
46
A HISTORY OP THE
tion, that his blood should have such great efficacy so
long before it was shed.
PART II.
FROM THE FLOOD TO THE CALLING OF ABRAHAM.
I PROCEED now to show how the same work was carried
on through the second period of the Old Testament, that
from the beginning of the floo.d until the calling of Abra
ham. For though that mighty, overflowing, universal
deluge of waters overthrew the world ; yet it did not
overthrow this building of God, the work of redemption.
But this went on yet ; and instead of being overthrown,
continued to be built up, and was carried on to a further
preparation for the great Saviour's coming into the
world, and working out redemption for his people. And
here,
I. The flood itself was a work of God that belonged to
this great affair, and tended to promote it. All the
great and mighty works of God from the fall of man to
the end of the world, are reducible to this work, and, if
seen in a right view of them, will appear as parts of it,
and so many steps that God has taken in order to it, or
as carrying it on ; and doubtless so great a work, so re
markable and universal a catastrophe, as the deluge
was, cannot be excepted. It was a work that God
wrought in order to it, as thereby God removed out of
the way the enemies and obstacles of it, that were ready
to overthrow it.
Satan seems to have been in a dreadful rage just be
fore the flood, and his rage then doubtless was, as it al
ways has been, chiefly against the church of God to
overthrow it ; and he had filled the earth with violence
and rage against it. He had drawn over almost all the
world to be on his side, and they listed under his banner
against Christ and his church. We read, that the earth
"was filled with violence;" and doubtless that violence
was chiefly against the church, in fulfilment of what was
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 47
foretold, " I will put enmity between thy seed and her
seed." And their enmity and violence was so great, and
the enemies of the church so numerous, the whole world
being against the church, that it was come to the last
extremity. Noah's reproofs, and his preaching of right
eousness, were utterly disregarded. God's [Spirit had
striven with them an hundred and twenty years, and all
in vain ; and the church was almost swallowed up. It
seems to have been reduced to so narrow limits, as to
be confined to one family. And there was no prospect
of any thing else but of their totally swallowing up the
church, and that in a very little time, and so wholly de
stroying that small root that had the blessing in it, or
whence the Redeemer was to proceed.
And therefore, God's destroying those enemies of the
church by the flood, belongs to this affair of redemption:
for it was one thing that "was done in fulfilment of the
covenant of grace, as it was revealed to Adam: "I will
put enmity between thee and the woman, and between
thy seed and her seed ; it shall bruise thy head." This
destruction was only a destruction of the seed of the
serpent in the midst of their most violent rage against
the seed of the woman, and so delivering the seed of the
woman from them, when in utmost peril by them.
We read of scarce any great destruction of nations
any where in scripture, but that one main reason given
for it is, their enmity and injuries against God's church ;
and doubtless this was one main reason of the destruc
tion of all nations by the flood. The giants that were in
those days, in all likelihood, got themselves their renown
by their great exploits against Heaven, and against
Christ and his church, the remaining sons of God that
had not corrupted themselves.
We read, that just before the world shall be destroyed
by fire, the nations that are in the four quarters of the
earth, shall gather together against the church as the
sand of the sea, and shall go up on the breadth of the
earth, and compass the camp of the saints about, and
the beloved city ; and then fire shall come down from
God out of heaven, and devour them, Rev. xx. 8, 9. And
it seems as though there was that which was very par
allel to it, just before the world was destroyed by water.
And therefore their destruction was a work of God that
did as much belong to the work of redemption, as the
destruction of the Egyptians belonged to the redemption
of the children of Israel out of Egypt, or as the destruc-
48 A HISTORY OF THE
tion of Sennacherib's mighty army, that had compassed
about Jerusalem to destroy it, belonged to God's re
demption of that city from them.
By means of this Mood, all the enemies of God's church,
against whom that little handful had no strength, were
swept off at once. God took their part, and appeared
for them, against their enemies, and drowned those of
whom they had been afraid, in the flood of water, as he
drowned the enemies of Israel that pursued them in the
Red Sea.
Indeed God could have taken other methods to deliver
his church. He could have converted all the world in
stead of drowning it; and so he could have taken an
other method than drowning the Egyptians in the Red
Sea. But that is no argument, that the method that he
did take, was not a method to show his redeeming mercy
to them.
By the wicked world's being drowned, the wicked,
the enemies of God's people, were dispossessed of the
earth, and the whole earth given to Noah and his family
to possess in quiet ; as God made room for the Israelites
m Canaan, by casting out their enemies from before
them. AndGod's thus taking the possession of the enemies
of the church and giving it all to his church, was agree
able to that promise of the covenant of grace: Psa.
xxxvii. 9, 10, 11. "For evil doers shall be cut off: but
those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the
earth. For yet a little while and the wicked shall not
be : yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and
it shall not be. But the meek shall inherit the earth, and
shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace."
II. Another thing here belonging to the same work,
was God's so wonderfully preserving that family of
which the Redeemer was to proceed, when all the rest
of the world was drowned. God's drowning the world,
and saving Noah and his family, both were works re
ducible to'this great work. The saving Noah and his
family belonged to it two ways. As that family was the
family of which the Redeemer was to proceed, and as
that family was the church that he had redeemed, it was
the mystical body of Christ that was there saved. The
manner of God's saving those persons, when all the
world besides was so overthrown, was very wonderful
and remarkable. It was a wonderful and remarkable
type of the redemption of Christ, of that redemption that
Is sealed by the baptism of water, and is so spoken of ia
\VORK OF REDEMPTION. 49
the New Testament, as 1 Pet. iii. 20, 21. " Which some
time were disobedient, when once the long-suffering of
God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a
preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved
by water. The like figure, whereunto, even baptism,
doth also now save us, (not the putting away of the
filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience
towards God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ."
That water that washed away the filth of the world,
that cleared the world of wicked men, was a type of
the blood of Christ, that takes away the sin of the
world. That water that delivered Noah and his sons
from their enemies, is a type of the blood that delivers
God's church from their sins, their worst enemies. That
water that was so plentiful and abundant, that it filled
the world, and reached above the tops of the highest
mountains, was a type of that blood, the sufficiency of
which is so abundant, that it is sufficient for the whole
world ; sufficient to bury the highest mountains of sin.
The ark, that was the refuge and hiding place of the
church in this time of storm and flood, was a type of
Christ, the true hiding place of the church from the
storms and floods of God's wrath.
III. The next thing I would observe is, the new grant
of the earth God made to Noah and his family immedi
ately after the flood, as founded on the covenant of grace.
The sacrifice of Christ was represented by Noah's build
ing an altar to the Lord, and offering a sacrifice of every
clean beast, and every clean fowl. And we have an ac
count of God's accepting this sacrifice: and thereupon
he blessed Noah, and established his covenant with him,
and with his seed, promising to destroy the earth in like
manner no more ; signifying how that it is by the sacri
fice of Christ that God's favour is obtained, and his peo
ple are in safety from God's destroying judgments, and
do obtain the blessing of the Lord. And God now, on
occasion of this sacrifice that Noah offered to God, gives
him and his posterity a new grant of the earth ; a new
power of dominion over the creatures, as founded on
that sacrifice, and so founded on the covenant of grace.
And so it is to be looked upon as a diverse grant from
that which was made to Adam, that we have, Gen. i. 28.
" And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be
fruitful, and multiply and replenish the earth, and subdue
it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over
the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that
Q
50 A HISTORY OF THE
moveth upon the earth." Which grant was not founded
on the covenant of grace; for it was given to Adam
while he was under the covenant of works, and there
fore was antiquated when that covenant ceased. The
first grant of the earth to Adam was founded on the first
covenant ; and therefore, when that first covenant was
broken, the right conveyed to him by that first covenant
was forfeited and lost. And hence it came to pass, that
the earth was taken away from mankind by the flood :
for the first grant was forfeited ; and God had never
made another after that, until after the flood. If the first
covenant had not been broken, God never would have
drowned the world, and so have taken it away from
mankind. For then the first grant made to mankind
would have stood good. But that was broken ; and so
God, after a while destroyed the earth, when the wicked
ness of man was great.
But after the flood, on Noah's offering a sacrifice that
represented the sacrifice of Christ, God in smelling a
sweet savour, or accepting that sacrifice, as it was a
representation of the true sacrifice of Christ, which is a
sweet savour indeed to God, gives Noah a new grant
of the earth, founded on that sacrifice of Christ, or that
covenant of grace which is by that sacrifice of Christ,
with a promise annexed, that now the earth should no
more be destroyed, until the consummation of all things;
as you may see in Gen. viii. 20, 21, 22, and chap. ix. 1,
2, 3, 7. The reason why such a promise, that God
would no more destroy the earth, was added to this
grant made to Noah, and not to that made to Adam, was
because this was founded on the covenant of grace, of
which Christ was the surety, and therefore could not be
broken. And therefore it comes to pass now, that though
the wickedness of man has dreadfully raged, and the
earth has been filled with violence and wickedness thou
sands of times, and one age after another, and much
more dreadful and aggravated wickedness than the
world was full of before the flood, being against so much
greater light and mercy ; especially in these days of the
gospel; Yet God's patience holds out; God does not de
stroy the earth; his mercy and forbearance abide ac
cording to his promise ; and his grant established with
Noah and his sons abides firm and good, being founded
on the covenant of grace.
IV. On this God renews with Noah and his sons the
covenant of grace, Gen. ix. 9, 10. " And I, behold, I es-
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 51
tablish my covenant with you, and with your seed after
you, and with every living creature that is with you, &c.
which was the covenant of grace; which even the brute
creation have this benefit of, that it shall never be de
stroyed again until the consummation of all things.
When we have this expression in scripture, my cove
nant, it commonly is to be understood of the covenant
of grace. The manner of expression, " I will establish
my covenant with you, and with your seed after you,"
shews plainly, that it was a covenant already in being,
that had been made already, and that Noah would un
derstand what covenant it was by that denomination,
viz. the covenant of grace.
V. God's disappointing the design of building the city
and tower of Babel. This work "of God belongs to the
great work of redemption. For that building was un
dertaken in opposition to this great building of God that
we are speaking of. Men's going about to build such a
city and tower was an effect of the corruption that man
kind were now soon fallen into. This city and tower
was set up in opposition to the city of God, as the god
that they built it to, was their pride. Being sunk into a
disposition to forsake the true God, the first idol they set
up in his room, was themselves, their own glory and
fame. And as this city and tower had their foundation
laid in the pride and vanity of men, and the haughtiness
of their minds, so it was built on a foundation exceed
ingly contrary to the nature of the foundation of the
kingdom of Christ, and his redeemed city, which has its
foundation laid in humility.
Therefore God saw that it tended to frustrate the de
sign of that great building that was founded, not in the
haughtiness of men, but Christ's blood : and therefore
the thing that they did displeased the Lord, and he baf
fled and confounded the design, and did not suffer them
to bring it to perfection ; as God will frustrate and con
found all other buildings, that are set up in opposition to
the great building of the work of redemption.
In the second chapter of Isaiah, where the prophet is
foretelling God's setting up the kingdom of Christ in the
world, he foretells how God will, in order to it, bring
down the haughtiness of men, and how the day of the
Lord shall be on every high tower, and upon every
fenced wall, &c. Christ's kingdom is established, by
bringing down every high thing to make way for it, 2
Cor. x. 4, 5. "For the weapons of our warfare are
52 A HISTORY OF THE
mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds,
casting down imaginations, and every high thing that
exalteth itself against the knowledge of God." What is
done in a particular soul, to make way for the setting
up of Christ's kingdom, is to destroy Babel in that soul.
They intended to have built Babel up to heaven. That
building that is the subject we are upon, is a building
that is intended to be built so high, that its top shall
reach to heaven indeed, as it will to the highest heavens
at the end of the world, when it shall be finished : and
therefore God would not suffer the building of his ene
mies, that they designed to build up to heaven in opposi
tion to it, to prosper. If they had gone on and prospered
in building that city and tower, it might have kept the
world of wicked men, the enemies of the church, to
gether, as that was their design. They might have re
mained united in one vast, powerful city ; and so they
might have been too powerful for the city of God, and
quite swallowed it up.
This city of Babel is the same with the city of Baby
lon ; for Babylon in the original is Babel. But Babylon
was a city that is always spoken of in scripture as chief
ly opposite to the city of God. Babylon, and Jerusalem,
or Zion, are opposed to each other often both in the Old
Testament and New. This city was a powerful and ter
rible enemy to the city of God afterwards, notwithstand
ing this great check put to the building of it in the begin
ning. But it might have been, and probably would have
been vastly more powerful, and able to vex and destroy
the church of God, if it had not been thus checked.
Thus it was in kindness to his church in the world,
and in prosecution of the great design of redemption,
that God put a stop to the building of the city and tower
of Babel.
VI. The dispersing of the nations and dividing the
earth among its inhabitants, immediately after God had
caused the building of Babel to cease. This was done
so as most to suit that great design of redemption. And
particularly, God therein had an eye to the future propa
gation of the gospel among the nations. They were so
placed, the bounds of their habitation so limited round
about the land of Canaan, the place laid out for the hab
itation of God's people, as most suited the design of prop
agating the gospel among them : Deut. xxxii. 8. " When
the Most High divided to the nations their inheritance,
when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 53
of the people according to the number of the children of
Israel." Acts xvii. 26, 27. " And hath made of one
blood all nations of men, for to dwell on all the face of
the earth, and hath determined the times before appoint
ed, and the bounds of their habitation ; that they should
seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and
find him." The land of Canaan was the most conveni
ently situated of any place in the world for the purpose
of spreading the light of the gospel thence among the
nations in general. The inhabited world was chiefly in
the Roman empire in the times immediately after Christ,
which was in the countries round about Jerusalem, and
so properly situated for the purpose of diffusing the light
of the gospel among them from that place. The devil
seeing the advantage of this situation of the nations for
promoting the great work of redemption, and the disad
vantage of it with respect to the interests of his kingdom,
afterward led away many nations into the remotest parts
of the world, to that end, to get them out of the way of
the gospel. Thus he led some into America ; and others
into northern cold regions, that are almost inaccessible.
VII. Another thingl would mention in this period, was
God's preserving the true religion in the line of which
Christ was to proceed, when the world in general apos
tatized to idolatry, and the church was in imminent
danger of being swallowed up in the general corruption.
Although God had lately wrought so wonderfully for the
deliverance of his church, and had shewn so great mercy
towards it, as for its sake even to destroy all the rest of
the world ; and although he had lately renewed and es
tablished his covenant of grace with Noah and his sons;
yet so prone is the corrupt heart of man to depart from
God, and to sink into the depths of wickedness, and so
prone to darkness, delusion, and idolatry, that the world
soon after the flood fell into gross idolatry ; so that be
fore Abraham the distemper was become almost univer
sal. The earth was become very corrupt at the time of
the building of Babel ; and even God's people themselves,
even that line of which Christ was to come, were cor
rupted in a measure with idolatry : Josh. xxiv. 2. " Your
fathers dwelt on the other side of the flood in old time,
even Terah the father of Abraham, and the father of Na-
hor ; and they served other gods." The other side of the
flood means beyond the river Euphrates, where the an
cestors of Abraham lived.
We are not to understand, that they were wholly
5*
54 A HISTORY OF THE
drawn off to idolatry, to forsake the true God. For God
is said to be the God of Nahor : Gen. xxxi. 53. " The
God of Abraham, and the God of Nahor, the God of their
father, judge betwixt us." But they only partook in
some measure of the general and almost universal cor
ruption of the times ; as Solomon was in a measure in
fected with idolatrous corruption; and as the children
of Israel in Egypt are said to serve other gods, though
yet there was the true church of God among them ; and
as there were images kept for a considerable time in the
family of Jacob ; the corruption being brought from Pa-
danaram, whence he fetched his wives.
This was the second time that the church was almost
brought to nothing by the corruption and general defec
tion of the world from true religion. But still the true
religion was kept up in the family of which Christ was
to proceed. Which is another instance of God's remark
ably preserving his church in a time of a general deluge
of wickedness ; and wherein, although the god of this
world raged, and had almost swallowed up God's church,
yet God did not suffer the gates of hell to prevail against
it.
PART III.
FROM THE CALLING OF ABRAHAM TO MOSES.
I PROCEED now to show how the work of redemption was
carried on through the third period of the times of the
Old Testament, beginning with the calling of Abraham,
and extending to Moses. And here,
I. It pleased God now to separate that person of whom
Christ was to come, from the rest of the world, that his
church might be upheld in his family and posterity until
Christ should come ; as he did in calling Abraham out
of his own country, and from his kindred, to go into a
distant country that God should show him, and bringing
him first out of Ur of the Chaldees to Charran, and then
to the land of Canaan.
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 55
It was before observed, that the corruption of the world
with idolatry was now become general ; mankind were
almost wholly overrun with idolatry. God therefore saw
it necessary, in order to uphold true religion in the world,
that there should be a family separated from the rest of
the world. It proved to be high time to take this course,
lest the church of Christ should wholly be carried away
with the apostasy. For the church of God itself, that had
been upheld in the line of Abraham's ancestors, was al
ready considerably corrupted. Abraham's own country
and kindred had most of them fallen off; and without
some extraordinary interposition of Providence, in all
likelihood, in a generation or two more, the true religion
in this line would have been extinct. And therefore God
saw it to be time to call Abraham, the person in whose
family he intended to uphold the true religion, out of his
own country, and from his kindred, to a far distant
country, that his posterity might there remain a people
separate from all the rest of the world ; that so the true
religion might be upheld there, while all mankind be
sides were swallowed up in heathenism.
The land of the Chaldees, that Abraham was called to
go out of, was the country about Babel ; Babel, or Baby
lon, was the chief city of the land of Chaldea. Learned
men suppose, by what they gather from some of the
most ancient accounts of things, that it was in this land
that idolatry first began ; that Babel and Chaldea were
the original and chief seat of the worship of idols, whence
it spread into other nations. And therefore the land of
the Chaldeans, or the country of Babylon, is in scripture
called the land of graven images ; as you may see, Jer.
1. 35. together with ver. 38. " A sword is upon the Chal
deans, saith the Lord, and upon the inhabitants of Baby
lon, and upon her princes, and upon her wise men. — A
drought is upon her waters, and they shall be dried up ;
for if is the land of graven images, and they are mad
upon their idols." God calls Abraham out of this idola
trous country, to a great distance from it. And when
he came there, he gave him no inheritance in it, no not
so much as to set his foot on ; but he remained a stran
ger and a sojourner, that he and his family might be
kept separate from all the world.
This was a new thing: God had never taken such a
method before. His church had not in this manner been
separated from the rest of the world until now ; but were
wont to dwell with them, without any bar or fence to
56 A HISTORY OF THE
keep them separate; the mischievous consequences of
which had been found once and again. The effect be
fore the flood, of God's people living intermingled with
the wicked world, without any remarkable wall of sep
aration, was, that the sons of the church joined in mar
riage with others, and thereby almost all soon became
infected, and the church was almost brought to nothing.
The method that God took then to fence the church was,
to drown the wicked world, and save the church in the
ark. And now the world, before Abraham was called,
was become corrupt again. But now God took another
method. He did not destroy the wicked world, and save
Abraham and his wife, and Lot, in an ark; but he calls
these persons to go and live separate from the rest of the
world.
This was a new thing, and a great thing, that God did
toward the work of redemption. This thing was done
now about the middle of the space of time between the
fall of man and the coming of Christ ; and there were
about two thousand years yet to come before Christ the
great Redeemer was to come. But by this calling of
Abraham, the ancestor of Christ, a foundation was laid
for the upholding the church of Christ in the world, until
Christ should come. For the world having become idol
atrous, there was a necessity that the seed of the woman
should be thus separated from the idolatrous world in
order to that.
And then it was needful that there should be a particu
lar nation separated from the rest of the world, to receive
the types and prophecies that were needful to be given
of Christ, to prepare the way for his coming ; that to
them might be committed the oracles of God; and that
by them the history of God's great works of creation
and providence might be upheld; and that so Christ
might be born of this nation ; and that from hence the
light of the gospel might shine forth to the rest of the
world. These ends could not be well obtained, if God's
people, through all these two thousand years, had lived
intermixed with the heathen world. So that this calling
of Abraham may be looked upon as a kind of a new
foundation laid for the visible church of God, in a more
distinct and regular state, to be upheld and built up on
this foundation from henceforward, until Christ should
actuall}7 come, and then through him to be propagated
to all nations. So that Abraham being the person in
whom this foundation is laid, is represented in scripture
WORK OP REDEMPTION. 57
as though he were the father of all the church, the father
of all them that believe ; as it were a root whence the
visible church thenceforward through Christ, Abraham's
root and offspring, rose as a tree, distinct from all other
plants ; of which tree Christ was the branch of righteous
ness ; and from which tree, after Christ came, the na
tural branches were broken off, and the Gentiles were
grafted into the same tree. So that Abraham still re
mains the father of the church, or root of the tree, through
Christ his seed. It is the same tree that flourishes from
that small beginning, that was in Abraham's time, and
has in these days of the gospel spread its branches over
a great part of the earth, and will fill the whole earth in
due time, and at the end of the world shall be transplant
ed from an earthly soil into the paradise of God.
II. There accompanied this a more particular and full
revelation and confirmation of the covenant of grace than
ever had been before. There had before this been, as it
were, two particular and solemn editions or confirma
tions of this covenant ; one at the beginning of the first
period, which was that whereby the covenant of grace
was revealed to our first parents, soon after the fall ; the
other at the beginning of the second period, whereby
God solemnly renewed the covenant of grace with Noah
and his family soon after the flood. And now there is a
third, at the beginning of the third period, at and after
the calling of Abraham. And it now being much nearer
the time of the coming of Christ than when the covenant
of grace was first revealed, it being, as was said before,
about halfway between the fall and the coming of Christ,
the revelation of the covenant now was much more full
than any that had been before. The covenant was now
more particularly revealed. It was now revealed, not
only that Christ should be ; but it was revealed to Abra
ham, that he should be his seed ; and it was now pro
mised, that all the families of the earth should be blessed
in him. And God was much in the promises of this to
Abraham. The first promise was when he first called
him, Gen. xii. 2. " And I will make of thee a great na
tion, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great ,•
and thou shalt be a blessing." And again the same pro
mise was renewed after he came into the land of Canaan,
chap. xiii. 14. &c. And the covenant was again re
newed after Abraham had returned from the slaughter
of the kings, chap. xv. 5, 6. And again, after his offer
ing up Isaac, chap. xxii. 16, 17, 18.
58 A HISTORY OF THE
In this renewal of the covenant of grace with Abra
ham, several particulars concerning that covenant were
revealed more fully than ever had been before ; not only
that Christ was to be of Abraham's seed, but also, the
calling of the Gentiles, and the bringing all nations into
the church, that all the families of the earth were to be
blessed, was now made known. And then the great
condition of the covenant of grace, which is faith," was
now more fully made known. Gen. xv. 5, 6. " And he
said unto him, So shall thy seed be. And Abraham be
lieved God, and it was counted unto him for righteous
ness." Which is much taken notice of in the New Tes
tament, as that whence Abraham was called the father
of them that believe.
And as there was now a further revelation of the cove
nant of grace, so there was a further confirmation of it by
seals and pledges, than ever had been before ; as, par
ticularly, God did now institute a certain sacrament, to
be a steady seal of this covenant in the visible church,
until Christ should come, viz. circumcision. Circumci
sion was a seal of this covenant of grace, as appears by
the first institution, as we have an account of it in the
xviith chapter of Genesis. It there appears to be a seal
of that covenant by which God promised to make Abra
ham a father of many nations, as appears by the 5th
verse, compared with the 9th and 10th verses. And we
are expressly taught, that it was a seal of the righteous
ness of faith, Rom. iv. 11. Speaking of Abraham, the
apostle says, " he received the sign of circumcision, a
seal of the righteousness of faith."
As I observed before, God called Abraham, that his
family and posterity might be kept separate from the
rest of the world, until Christ should come, which God
saw to be necessary on the forementioned accounts. And
this sacrament was the principal wall of separation ; it
chiefly distinguished Abraham's seed from the world,
and kept up a distinction and separation more than any
other particular observance whatsoever.
And besides this, there were other occasional seals,
pledges, and confirmations, that Abraham had of this
covenant; as, particularly, God gave Abraham a re
markable pledge of the fulfilment of the promise he had
made him, in his victory over Chedorlaomer and the
kings that were with him. Chedorlaomer seems to have
been a great emperor, that reigned over a great part of
the world at that day ; and though he had his seat at
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 59
Elam, which was not much if any thing short of a thou
sand miles distant from the land of Canaan, yet he ex
tended his empire so as to reign over many parts of the
land of Canaan, as appears by chap. xiv. 4, 5, 6, 7. It is
supposed by learned men, that he was a king of the As
syrian empire at that day, which had been before begun
by Nimrod at Babel. And as it was the honour of kings
in those days to build new cities to be made the seat of
their empire, as appears by Gen. x. 10, 11, 12. so it is
conjectured, that he had gone forth and built him a city
in Elam, and made that his seat ; and that those other
kings, who came with him, were his deputies in the sev
eral cities and countries where they reigned. But yet
as mighty an empire as he had, and as great an army as
he now came with into the land where Abraham was,
yet Abraham, only with his trained servants, that were
born in his own house, conquered, subdued, and baffled
this mighty emperor, and the kings that came with him,
and all their army. This he received of God as a pledge
of what he had promised, viz. the victory that Christ his
seed should obtain over the nations of the earth, where
by he should possess the gates of his enemies. It is
plainly spoken of as such in the xlist of Isaiah. In that
chapter is foretold the future glorious victory the church
shall obtain over the nations of the world ; as you may
see in the 1st, 10th, and 15th verses, &c. But here this
victory of Abraham over such a great emperor and his
mighty forces, is spoken of as a pledge and earnest of
this victory of the church, as you may see in the 2d and
3d verses. " Who raised up the righteous man from the
east, called him to his foot, gave the nations before him,
and made him rule over kings : He gave them as the
dust to his sword, and as driven stubble to his bow. He
pursued them, and passed safely; even by the way that
he had not gone with his feet."
Another remarkable confirmation Abraham received
of the covenant of grace, was when he returned from the
slaughter of the kings ; when Melchisedec the king of
Salem, the priest of the most high God, that great type
of Christ, met him, and blessed him, and brought forth
bread and wine. The bread and wine signified the
same blessings of the covenant of grace, that the bread
and wine do in the sacrament of the Lord's supper.
So that as Abraham had a seal of the covenant in cir
cumcision that was equivalent to baptism, so now he
had a seal of it equivalent to the Lord's supper. And
CO
A HISTORY OF THE
Melchisedec's coming to meet him with such a seal of
the covenant of grace, on the occasion of this victory of
his over the kings of the north, confirms, that that vic
tory was a pledge of God's fulfilment of the same cove
nant; for that is the mercy that Melchisedec with his
bread and wine takes notice of; as you may see by what
he says in Gen. xiv. 19, 20.
Another confirmation that God gave Abraham of the
covenant of grace, was the vision that he had in the deep
sleep that fell upon him, of the smoking furnace, and
burning lamp, that passed between the parts of the sac
rifice, as in the latter part of the xvth chapter of Genesis.
The sacrifice, as all sacrifices do, signified the sacrifice
of Christ. The smoking furnace that passed through
the midst of that sacrifice first, signified the sufferings
of Christ. But the burning lamp that followed, which
shone with a clear bright fight, signifies the glory that
followed Christ's sufferings, and was procured by them.
Another remarkable pledge that God gave Abraham
of the fulfilment of the covenant of grace, was his giving
of the child of whom Christ was to come, in his old age.
This is spoken of as such in scripture; Heb. xi. 11, 12.
and also Rom. iv. 18. &c.
Again, another remarkable pledge that God gave Ab
raham of the fulfilment of the covenant of grace, was his
delivering Isaac, after he was laid upon the wood of the
sacrifice to be slain. This was a confirmation of Abra
ham's faith in the promise that God had made of Christ,
that he should be of Isaac's posterity ; and was a repre
sentation of the resurrection of Christ ; as you may see,
Heb. xi. 17, 18, 19. And because this was given as a
confirmation of the covenant of grace, therefore God re
newed that covenant with Abraham on this occasion, as
you may see, Gen. xxiv. 15. &c.
Thus you see how much more fully the covenant of
grace was revealed and confirmed in Abraham's time
than ever it had been before ; by means of which Abra
ham seems to have had a more clear understanding and
sight of Christ the great Redeemer, and the future things
that were to be accomplished by him, than any of the
saints that had gone before. And therefore Christ takes
notice of it, that Abraham rejoiced to see his day, and he
saw it, and was glad, John viii. 56. So great an advance
did it please God now to make in this building, which he
had been carrying on from the beginning of the world.
III. The next thing that I would take notice of here, is
•WORK OF REDEMPTION. Gl
God's preserving the patriarchs for so long a time in the
midst of the wicked inhabitants of Canaan, and from all
other enemies. The patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Ja
cob, were those of whom Christ was to proceed ; and
they were now separated from the world, that in them
his church might be upheld. Therefore, in preserving
them, the great design of redemption was upheld and
carried on. He preserved them, and kept the inhabi
tants of the land where they sojourned from destroying
them ; which was a remarkable dispensation of Provi
dence. For the inhabitants of the land were at that day
exceedingly wicked, though they grew more wicked
afterwards. This appears by Gen. xv. 16. " In the fourth
generation they shall come hither again ; for the iniquity
of the Amorites is not yet full:" as much as to say,
Though it be very great, yet it is not yet full. And their
great "wickedness also appears by Abraham and Isaac's
aversion to their children marrying any of the daughters
of the land. Abraham, when he was old, could not be
content until he had made his servant swear that he
would not take a wife for his son of the daughters of the
land. And Isaac and Rebecca were content to send,
away Jacob to so great a distance as Padanaram, to take
him a wife thence. And when Esau married some of
the daughters of the land, we are told, that they were a
grief of mind to Isaac and Rebecca.
Another argument of their great wickedness, was the
instances we have in Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and
Zeboim, which were some of the cities of Canaan, though
they were probably distinguishingly wicked.
And they being thus wicked, were likely to have the
most bitter enmity against these holy men ; agreeable
to what was declared at first, " I will put enmity between
thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her
seed." Their holy lives were a continual condemnation
of their wickedness. And besides, it could not be other
wise, but that they must be much in reproving their
wickedness, as we find Lot was in Sodom ; who, we are
told, vexed his righteous soul with their unlawful deeds,
and was a preacher of righteousness to them.
And they were the more exposed to them, being stran
gers and sojourners in the land, and having no inherit
ance there as yet. Men are more apt to find fault with
strangers, and to be irritated by any thing in them that
offends them, as they were with Lot in Sodom. He
very gently reproved their wickedness; and they say
6
62 A HISTORY OF THE
upon it, "This fellow came in to sojourn, and he will
needs be a ruler and a judge;" and threatened what
they would do to him.
But God wonderfully preserved Abraham and Lot, and
Isaac and Jacob, and their families, amongst them, though
they were few in number, and they might quickly have
destroyed them ; which is taken notice of as a wonderful
instance of God's preserving mercy toward his church,
Psa. cv. 12. &c. " When they were but a few men in
number; yea, very few, and strangers in it; when they
went from one nation to another, from one kingdom to
another people; he suffered no man to do them wrongs
yea, he reproved kings for their sakes, saying, Touch
not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm."
This preservation was in some instances especially
very remarkable ; those instances that we have an ac
count of, wherein the people of the land were greatly ir
ritated and provoked; as they were by Simeon and Levi's
treatment of the Shechemites, as you may see in Gen.
xxxiv. 30. &c. God then strangely preserved Jacob and
his family, restraining the provoked people by an unu
sual terror on their minds, as you may see in Gen. xxxv.
5. " And the terror of God was upon the cities that
were round about them, and they did not pursue after
the sons of Jacob."
And God's preserving them, not only from the Cana-
anites, is here to be taken notice of, but his preserving
them from all others that intended mischief to them ; as
his preserving Jacob and his company, when pursued
by Laban, full of rage, and a disposition to overtake him
as an enemy : God met him, and rebuked him, and said
to him, " Take heed that thou speak not to Jacob either
good or bad." How wonderfully did he also preserve
him from Esau his brother, when he came forth with an
army, with a full design to cut him off! How did God,
in answer to his prayer, when he wrestled with Christ
at Penuel, wonderfully turn Esau's heart, and make him,
instead of meeting him as an enemy with slaughter and
destruction, to meet him as a friend and brother, doing
him no harm !
And thus were this handful, this little root that had the
blessing of the Redeemer in it, preserved in the midst of
enemies and dangers ; which was not unlike to the pre
serving the ark in the midst of the tempestuous deluge.
IV. The next thing I would mention is, the awful de
struction of Sodom land Gomorrah, and the neighbour-
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 63
ing cities. This tended to promote the great design and
work that is the subject of my present undertaking, two
ways. It did so, as it tended powerfully to restrain the
inhabitants of the land from injuring those holy stran-
Eers that God had brought to sojourn amongst them,
ot was one of those strangers ; he came into the land
with Abraham ; and Sodom was destroyed for their abu
sive disregard of Lot, the preacher of righteousness, that
God had sent among them. And their destruction came
just upon their committing a most injurious and abom
inable insult on Lot, and the strangers that were come
into his house, even those angels, whom they probably
took to be some of Lot's former acquaintance come from
the country that he came from, to visit him. They in a
most outrageous manner beset Lot's house, intending a
monstrous abuse and act of violence on those strangers
that were come thither, and threatening to serve Lot
worse than them.
But in the midst of this.God smote them with blind
ness ; and the next morning the city and the country
about it was overthrown in a most terrible storm of fire
and brimstone ; which dreadful destruction, as it was in
the sight of the rest of the inhabitants of the land, and
therefore greatly tended to restrain them from hurting
those holy strangers any more, doubtless struck a
dread and terror on their minds, and made them afraid
to hurt them, and probably was one principal means to
restrain them, and preserve the patriarchs. And when
that reason is given why the inhabitants of the land did
not pursue after Jacob, when they were so provoked by
the destruction of the Shechemites, viz. "that the terror
of the Lord was upon them," it is very probable, that
this was the terror that was set home upon them. They
remembered the amazing destruction of Sodom, and the
cities of the plain, that came upon them upon their abus
ive treatment of Lot, and so durst not hurt Jacob and
his family, though they were so much provoked to it.
Another way that this awful destruction tended to
promote this great affair of redemption, was, that here
by God did remarkably exhibit the terrors of his law, to
make men sensible of their need of redeeming mercy.
The work of redemption never was carried on without
this. The law, from the beginning, is made use of as a
schoolmaster to bring men to Christ.
But under the Old Testament there was much more
need of some extraordinary, visible, and sensible mani-
64 A HISTORY OF THE
festation of God's wrath against sin, than in the days of
the gospel ; since a future state, and the eternal misery
of hell, are more clearly revealed, and since the awful jus
tice of God against the sins of men has been so wonder
fully displayed in the sufferings of Christ. And there
fore the revelation that God gave of himself in those
days, used to be accompanied "with much more terror
than it is in these days of the gospel. So when God ap
peared at Mount Sinai to give the law, it was with thun
ders and lightnings, and a thick cloud, and the voice of
the trumpet exceeding loud. But some external awful
manifestations of God's wrath against sin were on some
accounts especially necessary before the giving of the
law : and therefore, before the flood, the terrors of the
law handed down by tradition from Adam served. Adam
lived nine hundred and thirty years himself, to tell the
church of God's awful threatenings denounced in the
covenant made with him, and how dreadful the conse
quences of the fall were, as he was an eye witness and
subject ; and others, that conversed with Adam, lived
until the flood. And the destruction of the world by the
flood served to exhibit the terrors of the law, and mani
fest the wrath of God against sin ; and so to make men
sensible of the absolute necessity of redeeming mercy.
And some that saw the flood were alive in Abraham's
time.
But this was now in a great measure forgotten ; now
therefore God was pleased again, in a most amazing
manner, to show his wrath against sin, in the destruc
tion of these cities ; which was after such a manner as
to be the liveliest image of hell of any thing that ever
had been; and therefore the apostle Jude says, "They
suffer the vengeance of eternal fire," Jude 7. God rain
ed storms of fire and brimstone upon them. The way
that they were destroyed probably was by thick flashes
of lightning. The streams of brimstone were so thick
as to burn up all these cities ; so that they perished in
the flames of divine wrath. By this might be seen the
dreadful wrath of God against the ungodliness and un
righteousness of men ; which tended to show men the
necessity of redemption, and so to promote that great
work.
V. God again renewed and confirmed the covenant
of grace to Isaac and to Jacob. He did so to Isaac, as
you may see, Gen. xxvi. 3, 4. " And I will perform the
oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father; and I will
WORK OP REpEMPTlON. 65
make thy seed to multiply as the stars in heaven, and
will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy
seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed." And
afterwards it was renewed and confirmed to Jacob; first
in Isaac's blessing of him, wherein he acted and spoke
by extraordinary divine direction. In that blessing, the
blessings of the covenant of grace were established with
Jacob and his seed; as Gen. xxvii. 29. "Let people
serve thee, and nations bow down to thee; be lord over
thy brethren, and let thy mother's sons bow down to
thee : cursed be every one that curseth thee, and blessed
be he that blesseth thee." And therefore Esau, in miss
ing of this blessing, missed of being blessed as an heir
of the benefits of the covenant of grace.
This covenant was again renewed and confirmed to
Jacob at Bethel, in his vision of the ladder that reached
to heaven ; which ladder was a symbol of the way of
salvation by Christ. For the stone that Jacob rested on
was a type of Christ, the stone of Israel, which the spi
ritual Israel or Jacob rests upon ; as is evident, because
this stone was on this occasion anointed, and was made
use of as an altar. But we know that Christ is the an
ointed of God, and is the only true altar of God. While
Jacob was resting on this stone, and saw this ladder,
God appears to him as his covenant God, and renews
the covenant of grace with him; as in Gen. xxviii. 14.
"And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth ; and
thou shaft spread abroad to the west, and to the east,
and to the north, and to the south ; and in thee and in
thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed."
And Jacob had another remarkable confirmation of
this covenant at Penuel, where he wrestled with God,
and prevailed ; where Christ appeared to him in a hu
man form, in the form of that nature which he was after
wards to receive into a personal union with his divine
nature.
And God renewed his covenant with him again, after
he was come out of Padanaram, and was come up to
Bethel, to the stone that he had rested on, and where he
had the vision of the ladder; as you may see in Gen.
xxxv. 10. &c.
Thus the covenant of grace was now often renewed,
much oftener than it had been before. The light of the
gospel now began to shine much brighter, as the time
drew nearer that Christ should come.
VI. The next thing I would observe, is God's remark-
6*
66 A HISTORY OF THE
ably preserving the family of which Christ was to pro
ceed from perishing by famine, by the instrumentality
of Joseph. When there was a seven years' famine ap
proaching, God was pleased, by a wonderful providence,
to send Joseph into Egypt, there to provide for, and feed
Jacob and his family^ and to keep the holy seed alive,
which otherwise would have perished. Joseph was sent
into Egypt for that end, as he observes, Gen. 1. 20. "But
as for you, ye thought evil against me ; but God meant
it unto good, to save much people alive." How often
had this holy root, that had the future branch of right
eousness, the glorious Redeemer, in it, been in danger
of being destroyed ! But God wonderfully preserved it.
This salvation of the house of Israel by the hand of
Joseph, was upon some accounts very much a resem
blance of the salvation of Christ. The children of Israel
were saved by Joseph their kinsman and brother, from
perishing by famine ; as he that saves the souls of the
spiritual Israel from spiritual famine is their near kins
man, and one that is not ashamed to call them brethren.
Joseph was a brother, that they had hated, and sold, and
as it were killed ; for they had designed to kill him. So
Christ is one that we naturally hate, and, by our wicked
lives, have sold for the vain things of the world, and that
by our sins we have slain. Joseph was first in a state
of humiliation; he was a servant, as Christ appeared in
the form of a servant ; and then was cast into a dungeon,
as Christ descended into the grave ; and then when he
rose out of the dungeon, he was in a state of great exal
tation, at the king's right hand as his deputy, to reign
over all his kingdom, to provide food, to preserve life ;
and being in this state of exaltation, he dispenses food to
his brethren, and so gives them life ; as Christ was ex
alted at God's right hand to be a prince and saviour to
his brethren, and received gifts for men, even for the re
bellious, and them that hated, and had sold him.
VII. After this there was a prophecy given forth of
Christ, on some accounts, more particular than ever any
had been before, even that which was in Jacob's blessing
his son Judah. This was more particular than ever any
had been before, as it showed of whose posterity he was
to be. When God called Abraham, it was revealed that he
was to be of Abraham's posterity. Before, we have no
account of any revelation concerning Christ's pedigree,
confined to narrower limits than the posterity of Noah :
after this it was confined to still narrower limits; for
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 67
though Abraham had many sons, yet it was revealed,
that Christ was to be of Isaac's posterity. And then it
was limited more still: for when Isaac had two sons, it
was revealed that Christ was to be of Israel's posterity.
And now, though Israel had twelve sons, yet it is reveal
ed that Christ should be of Judah's posterity; Christ is
the lion of the tribe of Judah. Respect is chiefly had to
his great acts, when it is said here, Gen. xlix. 8. "Judah,
thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise ; thy hand
shall be in the neck of thine enemies: thy father's child
ren shall bow down before thee. Judah is a lion's
whelp ; from the prey, my son, thou art gone up : he
stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion.
Who shall rouse him up]" And then this prediction is
more particular concerning the time of Christ's coming,
than any had been before; as in ver. 10. "The sceptre
shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from be
tween his feet, until Shiloh come ; and unto him shall the
gathering of the people be." The prophecy here, of the
calling of the Gentiles consequent on Christ's coming,
seems to be more plain than any had been before, in the
expression, to him shall the gathering of the people be.
Thus you see how that gospel light which dawned
immediately after the fall of man, gradually increases.
VIII. The work of redemption was carried on in this
period, in God's wonderfully preserving the children of
Israel in Egypt, when the power of Egypt was engaged
utterly to destroy them. They seemed to be wholly in
the hands of the Egyptians ; they were their servants,
and were subject to the power of Pharaoh : and Pharaoh
set himself to weaken them with hard bondage. And
when he saw that did not do, he set himself to extirpate
the race of them, by commanding that every male child
should be drowned. But after all that Pharaoh could
do, God wonderfully preserved them ; and not only so,
but increased them exceedingly; so that, instead of be
ing extirpated, they greatly multiplied.
IX. Here is to be observed, not only the preservation
of the nation, but God's wonderfully preserving and up
holding his invisible church in that nation, when in dan
ger of being overwhelmed in the idolatry of Egypt. The
children of Israel being long among the Egyptians, and
being servants under them, and so not under advantages
to keep God's ordinances among themselves, and main
tain any public worship or public instruction, whereby
the true religion might be upheld, and there being now
68 A HISTORY OF THE
no written word of God, they, by degrees, in a great
measure lost the true religion, and borrowed the idolatry
of Egypt; and the greater part of the people fell away to
the worship of their gods. This we learn by Ezek. xx.
0, 7, 8. and by chap, xxiii. 8.
This now was the third time that God's church was
almost swallowed up and carried away with the wicked
ness of the world ; once before the flood ; the other time,
before the calling of Abraham; and now, the third time,
in Egypt. But yet God did not suffer his church to be
quite overwhelmed; he still saved it, like the ark in the
flood, and as he saved Moses in the midst of the waters,
in an ark of bulrushes, where he was in the utmost dan
ger of being swallowed up. The true religion was still
kept up with some ; and God had still a people among
them, even in this miserable, corrupt, and dark time.
The parents of Moses were true servants of God, as we
may learn by Heb. xi. 23. " By faith Moses, when he
was born, was hid three months of his parents, because
they saw that he was a proper child ; and they were not
afraid of the king's commandment."
I have now gone through the third period of the Old
Testament time; and have shown how the work of re
demption was carried on from the calling of Abraham
to Moses ; in which we have seen many great things
done towards this work, and a great advancement of
this building, beyond what had been before.
PART IV.
FROM MOSES TO DAVID.
I PROCEED to the fourth period, which reaches from Mo
ses to David. — I would show how the work of redemp
tion was carried on through this also.
I. The first thing that offers itself to be considered, is
the redemption of the church of God out of Egypt ; the
most remarkable of all the Old Testament redemptions
of the church of God, and that which was the greatest
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 69
pledge and forerunner of the future redemption of Christ,
of any; and is much more insisted on in scripture than
any other of those redemptions. And indeed it was the
greatest type of Christ's redemption of any providential
event whatsoever. This redemption was by Jesus
Christ, as is evident from this, that it was wrought by
him that appeared to Moses in the bush ; for that was
the person that sent Moses to redeem that people. But
that was Christ, as is evident, because he is called the
angel of the Lord, Ex. iii. 2, 3. The bush represented
the human nature of Christ, that is called the branch.
The bush grew on Mount Sinai or Horeb, which is a
word that signifies a dry place, as the human nature of
Christ was a root out of a dry ground. The bush burn
ing with fire, represented the sufferings of Christ, in the
fire of God's wrath. It burned and was not consumed;
so Christ, though he suffered extremely, yet perished
not ; but overcame at last, and rose from his sufferings.
Because this great mystery of the incarnation and suf
ferings of Christ was here represented, therefore Moses
says, " I will turn aside, and behold this great sight." A
great sight he might well call it, when there was repre
sented, God manifest in the flesh, and suffering a dread
ful death, and rising from the dead.
This glorious Redeemer was he that redeemed the
church out of Egypt, from under the hand of Pharaoh;
as Christ, by his death and sufferings, redeemed his peo
ple from Satan, the spiritual Pharaoh. He redeemed
them from hard service and cruel drudgery ; as Christ
redeems his people from the cruel slavery of sin and Sa
tan. He redeemed them, as it is said, from the iron fur
nace; as Christ redeems his church from a furnace of
fire and everlasting burnings. He redeemed them with
a strong hand and outstretched arm, and great and ter
rible judgments on their enemies; as Christ with mighty
power triumphs over principalities and powers, and ex
ecutes terrible judgments on his church's enemies, bruis
ing the serpent's head. He saved them, when others
were destroyed, by the sprinkling of the blood of the
paschal lamb; as God's church is saved from death by
the sprinkling of the blood of Christ, when the rest of the
world is destroyed. God brought forth the people sore
ly against the will of the Egyptians, when they could
not bear to let them go; so Christ rescues his people out
of the hands of the devil, sorely against his will, when
his proud heart cannot bear to be overcome.
70
A HISTORY OF THE
In that redemption, Christ did not only redeem the
people from the Egyptians, but he redeemed them from
the devils, the gods of Egypt ; for before, they had been
in a state of servitude to the gods of Egypt, as well as to
the men. And Christ, the seed of the woman, did now,
in a very remarkable manner, fulfil the curse on the ser
pent in bruising his head: Ex. xii. 12. "For I will pass
through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all
the first born in the land of Egypt, both man and beast,
and against all the gods of Egypt will I execute judg
ment." Hell was as much and more engaged in that af
fair, than Egypt was. The pride and cruelty of Satan,
that old serpent, was more concerned in it than Pha
raoh's. He did his utmost against the people, and to his
utmost opposed their redemption. But it is said, that
when God redeemed his people out of Egypt, he broke
the heads of the dragons in the waters, and broke the
head of leviathan in pieces, and gave him to be meat for
the people inhabiting the wilderness, Psa. Ixxiv. 12, 13,
14. God forced their enemies to lej them go, that they
might serve him; as also Zacharias observes with re
spect to the church under the gospel, Luke i. 74, 75.
The people of Israel went out with an high hand, and
Christ went before them in a pillar of cloud and fire.
There was a glorious triumph over earth and hell in that
deliverance. And when Pharaoh and his hosts, and Sa
tan by them, pursued the people, Christ overthrew them
in the Red Sea; the Lord triumphed gloriously; the
horse and his rider he cast into the sea, and there they
slept their last sleep, and never followed the children of
Israel any more ; as all Christ's enemies are overthrown
in his blood, which by its abundant sufficiency, and the
greatness of the sufferings with which it was shed, may
well be represented by a sea. The Red Sea did repre
sent Christ's blood, as is evident, because the apostle
compares the children of Israel's passage through the
Red Sea to baptism, 1 Cor. x. 1,2. But we all know
that the water of baptism represents Christ's blood.
Thus Christ, the angel of God's presence, in his love
and his pity, redeemed his people, and carried them in
the days of old as on eagles' wings, so that none of their
proud and spiteful enemies, neither Egyptians nor devils,
could touch them.
This was quite a new thing that God did towards this
great work of redemption. God never had done any
ihing like it before ; Deut. iv. 32, 33, 34. This was a
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 71
great advancement of the work of redemption, that had
been begun and carried on from the fall of man ; a great
step taken in divine providence towards a preparation
for Christ's coming into the world, and working out his
great and eternal redemption : for this was the people of
whom Christ was to come. And now we may see how
that plant flourished that God had planted in Abraham.
Though the family of which Christ was to come, had
been in a degree separated from the rest of the world be
fore, in the calling of Abraham ; yet that separation that
was then made, appeared not to be sufficient, without
further separation. For though by that separation, they
were kept as strangers and sojourners, kept from being
united with other people in the same political societies;
yet they remained mixed among them, by which means,
as it had proved, they had been in danger of wholly los
ing the true religion, and of being overrun with the idol
atry of their neighbours. God now, therefore, by this
redemption, separated them as a nation from all other
nations, to subsist by themselves in their own political
and ecclesiastical state, without having any concern
with the heathen nations, that they might so be kept
separate until Christ should come; and so that the
church of Christ might be upheld, and might keep the
oracles of God, until that time ; that in them might be
kept up those types and prophecies of Christ, and those
histories, and other divine previous instructions, that
were necessary to prepare the way for Christ's coming.
II. As this people were separated to be God's peculiar
people, so all other people upon the face of the whole
earth were wholly rejected and given over to heathen
ism. This, so far as the providence of God was con
cerned in it, belongs to the great affair of redemption
that we are upon, and was one thing that God ordered
in his providence to prepare the way for Christ's com
ing, and the great salvation he was to accomplish in the
world ; for it was only to prepare the way for the more
glorious and signal victory and triumph of Christ's pow
er and grace over the wicked and miserable world, and
that Christ's salvation of the world of mankind might
become the more sensible. This is the account the
scripture itself gives us of the matter, Rom. xi. 30, 31,
32. The apostle there speaking to the Gentiles that had
formerly been heathens, says, " As ye in times past have
not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through
their unbelief; even so have these also now not belie v-
72 A HISTORY OF THE
ed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy,
For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he
might have mercy upon all." i. e. It was the will of God.
that the whole world, Jews and Gentiles, should be con
cluded in visible and professed unbelief, that so God's
mercy and Christ's salvation towards them all might be
visible and sensible. For the apostle is not speaking
only of that unbelief that is natural to all God's profess
ing people as well as others, but that which appears, and
is visible; such as the Jews fell into, when they openly
rejected Christ, and ceased to be a professing people.
The apostle observes, how that first the Gentiles, even
the Gentile nations, were included in a professed unbe
lief and open opposition to the true religion, before Christ
came, to prepare the way for the calling of the Gentiles,
which was soon after Christ came, that God's mercy
might be the more visible to them ; and that the Jews
were rejected, and apostatized from the visible church,
to prepare the way for the calling of the Jews, which
shall be in the latter days : so that it may be seen of all
nations, Jews and Gentiles, that they are visibly redeem
ed by Christ, from being visibly aliens from the common
wealth of Israel, without hope, and without God in the
world.
We cannot certainly determine precisely at what time
the apostasy of the Gentile nations from the true God, or
their being concluded in visible unbelief, became univer
sal. Their falling away was a gradual thing, as we ob
served before. It was general in Abraham's time, but
not universal : for then we find Melchisedec, one of the
kings of Canaan, was priest of the most high God. And
after this the true religion was kept up for a while among
some of the rest of Abraham's posterity, besides the fam
ily of Jacob; and also in some of the posterity of Nahor,
as we have instances of, in Job, and his three friends,
and Elihu. The land of Uz, where Job Jived, was a land
possessed by the posterity of Uz, or Huz, the son of Na
hor, Abraham's brother, of whom we read, Gen. xxii.
21. Bildad the Shuhite was of the offspring of Shuah,
Abraham's son by Keturah, Gen. xxv. 1, 2. and Elihu
the Bnzite, was of Buz the son of Nahor, the brother of
Abraham. So the true religion lasted among some other
people, besides the Israelites, a while after Abraham.
But it did not last long: and it is probable that the time
of their total rejection, and giving up to idolatry, was
about the time when God separated the children of Is-
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 73
rael from Egypt to serve him ; for they are often put in
mind on that occasion, that God had now separated them
to be his peculiar people : or to be distinguished from all
other people upon earth, to be his people alone : to be
his portion, when others were rejected. This seems to
hold forth thus much to us, that God now chose them in
such a manner, that this visible choice of them was ac
companied with a visible rejection of all other nations in
the world ; that God visibly came, and took up his resi
dence with them, as forsaking all other nations.
And so, as the first calling of the Gentiles after Christ
came, was accompanied with a rejection of the Jews; so
the first calling of the Jews to be God's people, when
they were called out of Egypt, was accompanied with a
rejection of the Gentiles.
Thus all the Gentile nations throughout the whole
world, all nations, but only the Israelites, and those that
embodied themselves with them, were left and given up
to idolatry ; and so continued a great many ages, even
from this time until Christ came, which was about fifteen
hundred years. They were concluded so long a time in
unbelief, that there might be a thorough proof of the ne
cessity of a saviour ; that it might appear by so long a
trial, past all contradiction, that mankind were utterly
insufficient to deliver themselves from that gross dark
ness and misery, and subjection to the devil, that they
had fallen under; that it might appear that all the wis
dom of the philosophers, and the wisest men that the
heathen had among them, could not deliver them from
their darkness, for the greater glory to Jesus Christ,
who, when he came, enlightened and delivered them by
his glorious gospel. Herein the wonderful wisdom of
God appeared, in thus preparing the way for Christ's re
demption. This the scripture teaches us, as in 1 Cor. i.
21. "For after that, in the wisdom of God, the world by
wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness
of preaching to save them that believe."
Here I might consider as another work of God, where
by the general work of redemption was carried on, that
wonderful deliverance which he wrought for the children
of Israel at the Red Sea, when they were pursued by the
hosts of the Egyptians, and were just ready to be swal
lowed up by them, there being, to human appearance
no possibilty of an escape. Rut as this may be referred
to their redemption out of Egypt, and considered as a
74 A HISTORY OF THE
part of that more general work, I shall not further en
large upon it.
111. The next thing that I shall take notice of here, that
was done towards the work of redemption, is God's giv
ing the moral law in so awful a manner at Mount Sinai.
This was another new thing that God did, a new step
taken in this great affair. Deut. iv. 33. "Did ever a peo
ple hear the voice of God speaking out of the midst of
the fire, as thou hast heard, and live]" And it was a
great thing that God did towards this work, and that
whether we consider it as delivered as a new exhibition
of the covenant of works, or given as a rule of life.
The covenant of works was here exhibited to be as a
schoolmaster to lead to Christ, not only for the use of
that nation in the ages of the Old Testament, but for the
use of God's church throughout all ages of the world; as
an instrument that the great Redeemer makes use of to
convince men of their sin and misery, and helpless state,
and of God's awful and tremendous majesty and justice
as a lawgiver, and so to make men sensible of the neces
sity of Christ as a saviour. The work of redemption, in
its saving effect on men's souls, in all the progress of it
to the end of it, is not carried on without the use of this
law that was now delivered at Sinai.
It was given in an awful manner, with a terrible voice,
exceedingly loud and awful, so that all the people that
were in the camp trembled ; and Moses himself, though
so intimate a friend of God, yet said, I exceedingly fear
and quake; the voice being accompanied with thunders
and lightnings, the mountain burning with fire to the
midst of heaven, and the earth itself shaking and trem
bling; to make all sensible how great that authority,
power, and justice was, that stood engaged to exact the
fulfilment of this law, and to see it fully executed ; and
how strictly God would require the fulfilment ; and how
terrible his wrath would be against every breaker of it ;
that men being sensible of these things, might have a
thorough trial of themselves, and might prove their own
hearts, and know how impossible it is for them to have
salvation by the works of the law, and might see the ab
solute necessity they stood in of a mediator.
If we regard this law now given at Mount Sinai, not
as the covenant of works, but as a rule of life ; so it is
made use of by the Redeemer, from that time to the end
of the world, as a directory to his people, to show them
the way in which they must walk as they would go to
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 75
heaven : for a way of sincere and universal obedience
to this law is the narrow way that leads to life.
IV*. The next thing that is observable in this period,
was God's giving the typical law, in which I suppose to
be included most or all those precepts that were given
by Moses, that did not properly belong to the moral law;
not only those laws that are commonly called ceremo
nial, in distinction from judicial laws, which are the laws
prescribing the ceremonies and circumstances of the
Jewish worship, and their ecclesiastical state ; but also
many, if not all those divine laws that were political, and
for regulating the Jewish commonwealth, commonly
called judicial laws; these were at best many of them
typical. The giving this typical law was another great
thing that God did in this period, tending to build up this
glorious structure of redemption that God had been
carrying on from the beginning of the world. There
had been many typical events of providence before, that
represented Christ and his redemption, and some typical
ordinances, as particularly those two of sacrifices and
circumcision : but now, instead of representing the great
Redeemer in a few institutions, God gives forth a law
full of nothing else but various and innumerable typical
representations of good things to come, by which that
nation were directed how, every year, month, and day,
in their religious actions, and in their conduct of them
selves, in all that appertained to their ecclesiastical and
civil state, to show forth something of Christ ; one ob
servance showing one thing, exhibiting one doctrine, or
one benefit ; another, another : so that the whole nation
by this law was, as it were, constituted in a typical state.
Thus the gospel was abundantly held forth to that na
tion ; so that there is scarce any doctrine of it, but is
particularly taught and exhibited by some observance
of this law , though it was in shadows, and under a veil,
as Moses put a veil on his face when it shone.
To this typical law belong all the precepts that relate
to building the tabernacle, that was set up in the wilder
ness, and all the form, circumstances, and utensils of it.
V. About this time was given to God's church the first
written word of God that ever was enjoyed by God's
people. This was another great thing done towards the
affair of redemption, a new and glorious advancement
of the building. Not far from this time, was the begin
ning of the great written rule, which God has given for
the regulation of the faith, worship, and practice of his
76 A HISTORY OF THE
church in all ages henceforward to the end of the world;
which rule grew, and was added to from that time, for
many ages, until it was finished, and the canon of scrip
ture completed by the apostle John. It is not very ma
terial, whether the first written word that ever was, was
the ten commandments written on the tables of stone
with the finger of God, or the book of Job; and whether
the book of Job was written by Moses, as some suppose,
or by Elihu, as others. If it was written by Elihu, it was
written before this period that we are now upon ; but
yet could not be far from it, as appears by considering
whose posterity the persons were that are spoken of in
it, together with Job's great age, that was past before this
was written.
The written word of God is the main instrument
Christ has made use of to carry on his work of redemp
tion in all ages since it was given. There was a neces
sity now of the word of God being committed to writ
ing, for a steady rule to God's church. Before this, the
church had the word of God by tradition, either by im
mediate tradition from eminent men that were inspired,
that were then living, (for it was a common thing in
those days, before there was a written word, for God to
reveal himself immediately to eminent persons, as ap
pears by the book of Job, and many other things that
might be mentioned, in the book of Genesis,) or else they
had it by tradition from former generations, which
might be had with tolerable certainty in ages preceding
this, by reason of the long lives of men. Noah might
converse with Adam, and receive traditions from him ;
and Noah lived until about Abraham's time: and the
sons of Jacob lived a considerable time to deliver the
revelations made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to their
posterity in Egypt. But the distance from the begin
ning of things was become so great, and the lives of men
become so short, being brought down to the present
standard about Moses's time, and God having now sep
arated a nation to be a peculiar people, partly for that
end to be the keepers of the oracles of God ; God saw it
to be a needful and convenient time now to commit his
word to writing, to remain henceforward for a steady
rule throughout all ages. And therefore, besides the
book of Job, Christ wrote the ten commandments on
tables of stone, with his own finger; and after this the
whole law, as containing the substance of the five books
of Moses, was by God's special command committed to
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 77
writing, which was called the book of the law, and was
laid up in the tabernacle, to be kept there for the use of
the church ; as you may see, Deut. xxxi, 24, 25, 26.
VI. God was pleased now wonderfully to represent
the progress of his redeemed church through the world
to their eternal inheritance, by the journey of the child
ren of Israel through the wilderness, from Egypt to Ca
naan. Here all the various steps of the redemption of
the church by Christ were represented, from the begin
ning to its consummation in glory. The state they are
redeemed from is represented by Egypt, and their bond
age there, which they left. The purchase of their re
demption was represented by the sacrifice of the paschal
lamb, which was offered up that night that God slew all
the first born of Egypt. The beginning of the applica
tion of the redemption of Christ's church in their conver
sion, was represented by Israel's going out of Egypt, and
passing through the Red Sea in so extraordinary and
miraculous a manner. The travel of the church through
this evil world, and the various changes through which
the church passes, in the different stages of it, were repre
sented by the journey of the Israelites through the wild
erness. The manner of their being conducted by Christ,
was represented by the Israelites being led by the pillar
of cloud by day, and the pillar of fire by night. The
manner of the church's being supported in their pro
gress, and supplied from the beginning to the end of it,
with spiritual food, and continual daily communications
from God, was represented by God's supplying the child
ren of Israel with bread, or manna, from heaven, and
water out of the rock. The dangers that the saints
must meet with in their course through the world, were
represented by the fiery flying serpents which the child
ren of Israel met with in the wilderness. The conflicts
the church has with her enemies, were represented by
their battle with the Amalekites, and others they met
with there. And so innumerable other things might be
mentioned, wherein the things they met with were lively
images of things which the church and saints meet with
in all ages of the world. That these things are typical
of things that pertain to the Christian church, is manifest
from 1 Cor. x. 11. "Now all these things happened unto
them from ensamples, and they were written for our ad
monition, upon whom the ends of the world are come."
Here the apostle is speaking of those very things which
we have now mentioned, and he says expressly, that
78 A HISTORY OF THE
they happened unto them for types; so it is in the
original.
VII. Another thing here must not be omitted, which was
a great and remarkable dispensation of providence, re
specting the whole world of mankind, which was finished
in this period ; and that was, the shortening the days of
man's life, whereby it was brought down from being be
tween nine hundred and a thousand years, to be but about
seventy or eighty. The life of man began to be short
ened immediately after the flood: it was brought down
the first generation to six hundred years, and the next
to between four and five hundred years; and so the life
of man gradually grew shorter and shorter; until about
the time of the great mortality that was in the congrega
tion of Israel, after they had murmured at the report of
the spies, and their carcasses fell in the wilderness,
whereby all the men of war died ; and then the life of
man was reduced to its present standard, as Moses ob
serves in that psalm that he wrote on occasion of that
mortality: Psa. xc. 10. "The days of our years are
threescore years and ten ; and if by reason of strength
they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and
sorrow : for it is soon cut off, and we fly away."
This great dispensation of God tended to promote the
grand design of the redemption of Christ. Man's life be
ing cut so very short in this world, tended to prepare the
way for poor, mortal, shortlived men, the more joyfully
to entertain the glad tidings of everlasting life in another
world, that are brought to light by the gospel ; and more
readily to embrace a saviour, that purchases and offers
such a blessing. If men's lives were still commonly
about nine hundred years, How much less would they
have to move them to regard the proffers of a future life ;
how much greater temptation would they have to rest
in the things of this world, they being of such long con
tinuance, and to neglect any other life but this? This
probably contributed greatly to the wickedness of the
antediluvians. But now, how much greater motives
have men to seek redemption, and a better life than this,
by the great Redeemer, since the life of man is not one
twelfth part of what it used to be, and men now univer
sally die at the age when men formerly used to be but
as it were setting out in the world !
VIII. The same work was carried on in preserving
that people, of whom Christ was to come, from totally
perishing in the wilderness, by a constant miracle of
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 79
forty years continuance. I observed before many times,
how God preserved those of whom the Redeemer was
to proceed in a very wonderful manner; as he preserved
Noah and his family from the flood ; and as he preserved
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, with their families, from the
wicked inhabitants of Canaan ; and as he preserved Ja
cob and his family from perishing by the famine, by Jo
seph in Egypt. But this preservation of the children of
Israel for so long a time in the wilderness, was on some
accounts more remarkable than any of them; for it was
by a continual miracle of so long duration. There was,
as may be fairly computed, at first two millions of souls
in that congregation, that could not subsist any better
without meat and drink than other men. But if this had
been withheld, they must all have perished, every man,
woman, and child, in less than one month's time, so that
there would not have been one of them left. But yet
this vast multitude subsisted for forty years together, in
a dry barren wilderness, without sowing or reaping, or
tilling any land, having their bread daily rained down to
them out of heaven, and being furnished with water to
satisfy them all, out of a rock ; and the same clothes
with which they came out of Egypt, lasting, without
wearing out all that time. Never was any instance like
this, of a nation being so upheld for so long a time to
gether. Thus God upheld his church by a continual
miracle, and kept alive that people in whom was the
blessing, the promised seed, and great Redeemer of the
world.
IX. God was pleased, in this time of the children of Is
rael's being in the wilderness, to give a further revela
tion of Christ the Redeemer in the predictions of him,
than had been before. Here are three prophecies given
at this time that I would take notice of. The first is that
of Balaam, Numb. xxiv. 17, 18, 19. "I shall see him, but
not now ; I shall behold him, but not nigh : there shall
come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of
Israel, and shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy
all the children of Sheth. And Edom shall be a posses
sion, Seir also shall be a possession for his enemies, and
Israel shall do valiantly. Out of Jacob shall come he
that shall have dominion, and shall destroy him that re-
maineth of the city." This is a plainer prophecy of
Christ, especially with regard to his kingly office, than
any that had been before. But we have another, that
God gave by Moses, that is plainer still, especially with
80
A HISTORY OP THE
regard to his prophetical office, in Deut. xviii. 18. &c. "I
will raise up a prophet from among their brethren, like
unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth, and he
shall speak unto them all that I command him," &c.
This is a plainer prophecy of Christ than any that had
been before, in this respect, that all the prophecies that
had been before of Christ, were in figurative mystical
language. The first prophecy was so, That the seed of
the woman should bruise the serpent's head. The pro
mises made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, " That in
their seed all the families of the earth should be blessed,"
were also mystical ; which prophecy is not so particular,
because the expression, thy seed, is general, and not
plainly limited to any particular person. The prophecy
of Jacob in blessing Judah, Gen. xlix. 8. is in mystical
language; and so is that of Balaam, which speaks of
Christ under the figurative expression of a star. But
this is a plain prophecy, without being veiled in any
mystical language at all.
There are several things contained in this prophecy
of Christ. Here is his mediatorial office in general, ver.
16. Here it is revealed how he should be a person to
stand between them and God, that was so terrible a be
ing, a being of such awful majesty, holiness, and justice,
that they could not have come to him, and have inter
course with him immediately, without a mediator to
stand between them ; because, if they came to such a
dreadful sin-revenging God immediately, they should
die; God would prove a consuming fire to them. And
then here is a particular revelation of Christ with respect
to his prophetical office : " I will raise them up a prophet
from among their brethren, like unto thee," &c. And
further, it is revealed what kind of a prophet he should
be, a prophet like Moses, who was the head and leader
of all the people, and who, under God, had been their re
deemer, to bring them out of the house of bondage, was,
as it were, their shepherd by whom God led them through
the Red Sea and wilderness, and was an intercessor for
them with God, and was both a prophet and a king in
the congregation ; for Moses had the power of a king
among them. It is said of him, Deut. xxxiii. 5. He was
king in Jeshurun, and he was the prophet by whom God
as it were built up his church, and delivered his instruc
tions of worship. Thus Christ was to be a prophet like
unto Moses ; so that this is both the plainest and fullest
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 81
prophecy of Christ that ever had been from the begin
ning of the world to this time.
The next prophecy that I shall take notice of, respects
only the calling of the Gentiles, which should be after
Christ's coming, of which God gave a very plain pro
phecy by Moses in the wilderness, Deut. xxxii. 21. Here
is a very plain prophecy of the rejection of the Jews and
calling the Gentiles. They moved God to jealousy by
that which was not a god, by casting him off, and taking
other gods, that were no gods, in his room. So God de
clares that he will move them to jealousy in the like
manner, by casting them off, and taking other people,
that had not been his people, in their room. The Apos
tle Paul takes notice of this prophecy, as foretelling the
calling of the Gentiles, in Rom. x. 19, 20. "But I say,
Did not Israel know 1 First, Moses saith, I will provoke
you to jealousy by them that are no people, and by a
foolish nation 1 will anger you. But Esaias is very bold,
and saith, I was found of them that sought me not ; I
was made manifest to them that asked not after me."
Thus you see how the light of the gospel, which first
began to dawn and glimmer immediately after the fall,
gradually increases the nearer we come to Christ's time.
X. Another thing by which God carried on this work
in this time, was a remarkable pouring out of his Spirit
on the young generation in the wilderness. The gene
ration that was grown up when they came out of Egypt,
from twenty years old and upward, was a very froward
and perverse generation. They were tainted with the
idolatry and wickedness of Egypt, and were not weaned
from it, as the prophet Ezekiel takes notice, Ezek. xx. 6,
7, 8. Hence they made the golden calf in imitation of
the idolatry of Egypt, that was wont to wrorship a bull
or an ox ; and therefore cattle are called the abomina
tion of the Egyptians, i. e. their idol. This generation
God was exceeding angry with, and swore in his wrath,
that they should not enter into his rest. But the young
er generation were not so ; the generation that were un^
der twenty years old when they came out of Egypt, and
those that were born in the wilderness, the generation
spoken of, Numb. xiv. 31. "But your little ones, who
ye said should be a prey, them will I bring in ; and they
shall know the land that ye have despised." This was
the generation with whom the covenant was renewed, aa
we have an account in Deuteronomy, and that entered
into the land of Canaan. This generation God was
82 A HISTORY OF THE
pleased to make a generation to his praise, and they
were eminent for piety ; as appears by many things said
in scripture about them; as, particularly, Jer. ii. 2, 3. " I
remember thee, the kindness of thy youth, the love of
thine espousals, when thou wentest after me in the wil
derness, in a land that was not sown. Israel was holi
ness to the Lord, and the first fruits of his increase."
Here the generation that went after God in the wilder
ness, is spoken of with very high commendations, as
eminent for holiness: "Israel was holiness to the Lord,
and the first fruits of his increase." And their love to
God is spoken of as distinguished like the love of a bride
at her espousals. The going after God in the wilder
ness that is here spoken of, is not the going of the child
ren of Israel out of Egypt into the wilderness of Sinai,
but their following God through that dreadful wilderness,
that the congregation long wandered in, after they went
back from Kadesh-barnea, which is spoken of, Deut. viii.
15. " Who led thee through the great and terrible wil
derness, wherein were fiery serpents and scorpions, and
drought, where there was no water." Though this gen
eration had a much greater trial, than the generation of
their fathers had before they came to Kadesh-barnea, yet
they never murmured against God in any wise, as their
fathers had done : but their trials had a contrary effect
upon them, to awaken them, convince, and humble them,
and fit them for great mercy. They were awakened by
those awful judgments of God that he inflicted on their
fathers, whereby their carcasses fell in the wilderness.
And God poured out his Spirit with those awakening
providences toward their fathers, and their own travel
in the wilderness, and the word preached to them by
Moses; whereby they were greatly awakened, and
made to see the badness of their own hearts, and were
humbled, and at length multitudes of them savingly con
verted ; as Deut. viii. 2, 3. " And thou shalt remember
the way which the Lord thy God led thee these forty
years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove
thee, to know what was in thine heart whether thou
wouldest keep his commandments, or no. And he hum
bled thee," «Scc. And, ver. 15. "Who led thee through
that great and terrible wilderness, — that he might hum
ble thee, and that he might prove thee, to do thee good
at thy latter end." And therefore it is said, Hos. xiii. 5.
4 1 did know thee in the wilderness, in the land of great
drought." God allured them, and brought them into
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 83
that wilderness, and spake comfortably to them, as it
was foretold that he would do afterwards, Hos. ii. 14.
Those terrible judgments that were executed in the
congregation after their turning back from Kadesh-bar-
nea, in the matter of Korah, and the matter of Peor, were
chiefly on the old generation, whom God consumed in
the wilderness. Those rebellions were chiefly among
the elders of the congregation, who were of the older
generation that God had given up to their hearts lust ;
and they walked in their own counsels, and God was
grieved with their manners forty years in the wilder
ness.
But that this younger congregation were eminent for
piety, appears by all their history. The former genera
tion were wicked, and were followed with curses ; but
this was holy, and wonderful blessings followed them.
God did great things for them; he fought for them, and
gave them the possession of Canaan. And it is God's
manner, when he hath very great mercies to bestow on
a visible people, first, to fit them for them, and then to be
stow them on them. So it was here : they believed in God,
and by faith overcame Sihon and Og, and the giants of
Canaan ; and are commended for cleaving to the Lord:
Josh, xxiii. 8. " Joshua says unto them, Cleave unto the
Lord, as ye have done unto this day." And so Israel
did all the while that generation lived. But when Joshua
and all that generation were dead, there arose another
generation that knew not the Lord. This pious genera
tion showed a laudable and fervent zeal for God on sev
eral occasions ; on occasion of Achan's sin ; but especi
ally when they suspected the two tribes and a half had
set up an altar in opposition to the altar of burnt offering.
There never was any generation of Israel that so much
good and so little evil is mentioned of, as this genera
tion. It is further observable, that in the time of this
generation was the second general circumcision, where
by the reproach of Israel was fully rolled away, and they
became pure ; and when afterwards they were polluted
by Achan, they purged themselves again.
The men of the former generation being dead, and
God having sanctified this younger generation to himself,
he solemnly renewed his covenant with them, as we
have a particular account in the xxixth chapter of Deut
eronomy. We find that such solemn renovations of the
covenant commonly accompanied any remarkable pour
ing out of the Spirit, causing a general reformation : so
84
A HISTORY OF THE
we find it was in Hezekiah's and Josiah's times. It is
questionable whether there ever was a time of so great
a flourishing of religion in the Israelitish church, as in
that generation ; and as, in the Christian church, religion
was in its most flourishing circumstances in the day of
its espousals, or first setting up of that church, in the
days of the apostles, so it seems to have been with the
Jewish church in the days of its first establishment in
Moses's and Joshua's times.
Thus God at this time did gloriously advance the work
of redemption, both by his word and Spirit. By this
pouring out of the Spirit of God, the work of redemption
was promoted, not only as it was in itself a glorious in
stance of the carrying on of that redemption in the ap
plication of it, but as this was what God made use of as
a means of the good and orderly establishment of the
church of Israel at its first beginning, when it was first
settled in the regular observance of God's ordinances in
Canaan: even as the pouring out of the Spirit, in the be
ginning of the Christian church, was a great means God
made use of for the well establishing the Christian church
in the world in all succeeding ages.
XL The next thing I would observe, was God's bring
ing the people of Israel under the hand of Joshua, and
settling them in that land where Christ was to be born,
and which was the great type of the heavenly Canaan,
which Christ has purchased. This was done by Joshua,
who was of Joseph's posterity, and was an eminent type
of Christ, and is therefore called the shepherd, the stone
of Israel, in Jacob's blessing of Joseph, Gen. xlix. 24.
Being such a type of Christ, he bore the name of Christ.
Joshua and Jesus are the same name, only the one is
Hebrew, the other is Greek : and therefore, in the New
Testament, which was originally written in Greek,
Joshua is called Jesus, Acts vii. 45. " Which also our
fathers brought in with Jesus, i. e. Joshua; Heb. iv. 8.
" If Jesus had given them rest, he would not have spoken
of another day;" i. e. if Joshua had given them rest.
God wonderfully possessed his people of this land, con
quering the former inhabitants of it, and the mighty
giants, as Christ conquered the devil ; first conquering
the great kings of that part of the land that was on the
eastern side of Jordan, Sihon king of the Amorites, and
Og king of Bashan; and then dividing the river Jordan,
as before he had done the Red Sea; causing the walls
of Jericho to fall down at the sound of the trumpets of
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 85
the priests ; that sound typifying the sound of the gospel
by the preaching of the gospel ministers, the wails of the
accursed city Jericho signifying the walls of Satan's king
dom ; and after this wonderfully destroying the mighty
host of the Amorites under the five kings, causing the sun
and moon to stand still, to help the people against their
enemies, at the prayer of the typical Jesus ; plainly holding
this forth, that God would make the whole course of na
ture to be subservient to the affair of redemption ; so that
every thing should yield to the purposes of that work, and
give place to the welfare of God's redeemed people.
Thus did Christ show his great love to his elect, that
he would make the course of nature, in the frame of the
world that he had made, and that he governed, to give
place to their happiness and prosperity; and showed
that the sun and moon, and all things, visible and invisi
ble, were theirs by his purchase. At the same time,
Christ fought as the captain of their host, and cast down
great hailstones upon their enemies, by which more were
slain than by the sword of the children of Israel. And
after this Christ gave the people a mighty victory over a
yet greater army in the northern part of the land, that
were gathered together at the waters of Merom, as the
sand of the sea shore, as it is said, Josh. xi. 4.
Thus God gave the people whence Christ was to pro
ceed, the land where he was to be born, and live, and
preach, and work miracles, and die, and rise again, and
whence he was to ascend into heaven, as the land which
was a great type of heaven; which is another thing
whereby a great advance was made in the affair of re
demption.
XII. Another thing that God did towards carrying on
this affair, was his actually setting up his stated worship
among the people, as it had been before instituted in the
wilderness. This worship was appointed at Mount Si
nai, wholly in subserviency to this great affair of re
demption. It was to make way for the coming of Christ;
and the innumerable ceremonial observances of it were
typical of him and his redemption. This worship was
chiefly instituted at Mount Sinai ; but it was gradually
set up in practice. It was partly set up in the wilder
ness, where the tabernacle and its vessels were made ;
but there were many parts of their instituted worship
that could not be observed in the wilderness, by reason
of their unsettled, itinerant state there: and then there
were many precepts that respect the land of Canaan,
CO A HISTORY OF THE
and their cities and places of habitation there; which
there-lore could not he put in practice, until they came
into that land. But now, when this was brought to pass,
God set up his tabernacle in the midst of his people, as
he had before promised them, Lev. xxvi. 11. "1 will set
up my tabernacle amongst you." The tabernacle was
set at Shiloh, Josh, xviii. 1. and the priests and Levites
had their offices appointed them, and the cities of refuge
were appointed ; and now the people were in a condi
tion to observe their feasts of the first fruits, and their
feasts of ingathering, and to bring all their tithes and ap
pointed offerings to the Lord ; and most parts of God's
worship were set up, though there were some things
that were not observed until afterwards.
XIII. The next tiling I would take notice of, was God's
wonderfully preserving that people, from this time for
ward, when all the males went up, three times in the
year, to the place where God's ark was. The people of
Israel were generally surrounded with enemies, that
sought all opportunities to destroy them, and dispossess
them of their land ; and until David's time there were
great numbers in the land of the remains of the Canaan-
ites, and the other former inhabitants of the land, that
were bitter enemies to the people of Israel : and these
had from year to year, three times in the year, a fair op
portunity of overrunning their country, and getting pos
session of their cities, when all the males were gone, and
only the women, and those who were not able to go up,
were left behind. And yet they were remarkably pre
served throughout all generations at such seasons, agree
able to the promise that God had made, Exod. xxxiv. 24.
" Neither shall any man desire thy land, when thou shalt
go up to appear before the Lord thy God thrice in the
year." So wonderfully did God order affairs, and influ
ence the hearts of their enemies, that though they were
so full of enmity against Israel, and desired to dispossess
them of their land, and had so fair an opportunity so
often in their hands, that the whole country was left
naked and empty of all that could resist them, and it
would have been only for them to have gone and taken
possession, and they could have had it without opposi
tion, and they were so eager to take other opportunities
against them; yet we never read, in all their history, of
any of their enemies taking these opportunities against
them; which could be no less than a continual miracle,
.that God, for the preservation of his church, kept up for
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 87
so many generations, even throughout the ages of the
Old Testament. It was surely a wonderful dispensa
tion of divine providence to maintain and promote God's
great design of redemption.
XI V. God's preserving his church and the true religion
from being wholly extinct in the frequent apostasies of
the Israelites in the time of the judges. How prone was
that people to forsake the true God, that had done such
wonderful things for them, and to fall into idolatry! and how
did the land, from time to time, seem to be almost over
run with idolatry! But yet God never suffered his true
worship to be totally rooted out : his tabernacle stood,
the ark was preserved, the book of the law was kept
from being destroyed, God's priesthood was upheld, and
God still had a church among the people; and time after
time, when religion seemed to be almost gone, and it
was come to the last extremity, then God granted a re
vival, and sent some angel or prophet, or raised up some
eminent person, to be an instrument of their reforma
tion.
XV. God's preserving that nation from being destroy
ed, and delivering them from time to time, although they
were so often subdued and brought under the dominion
of their enemies. It is a wonder, not only that the true
religion was not wholly rooted out, and so the church
destroyed that way; but also that the very nation in
which that church was, was not utterly destroyed ; they
were so often brought under the power of their enemies.
One while they were subdued by Chushanrishathaini
king of Mesopotamia, another while they were brought
under the Moabites ; and then they were sold into the
hand of Jabin king of Canaan: and then they were un
der the dominion of the Midianites; and then were sore
ly distressed by the children of Ammon ; anc1 then by
the Philistines. But yet God, in all these dancers, pre
served them, and kept them from being wholly over
thrown: and from time to time, when it was come to
extremity, and God saw that they were upon the very
brink of ruin, then God raised up a deliverer, agreeable
to Deut. xxxii. 36. "For the Lord shall judge his people,
and repent himself for his servants ; when he seeth their
power is gone, and there is none shut up or left."
Those remarkable dispensations of Providence are
very lively and elegantly set forth by the Psalmist, Psa.
cvi. 34. &c.
These deliverers that God raised up from time to time
OO A HISTORY OP THE
were all types of Christ, the great redeemer and deliver
er of his church ; and some of them very remarkably so;
as, particularly, Barak, Jephtha, Gideon, and Samson,
in very many particulars ; and above all in the acts of
Samson, as might be shown, were it not that this would
take up too much time.
XVI. It is observable, that when Christ appeared to
manage the affairs of his church in this period, he often
appeared in the form of that nature that he took upon
him in his incarnation. So he seems to have appeared
to Moses from time to time, and particularly at that time
when God spake to him face to face, as a man speaketh
to his friend, and he beheld the similitude of the Lord
(Numb. xii. 8.) after he had besought him to show him
his glory ; which was the most remarkable vision that
ever he had of Christ. There was a twofold discovery
that Moses had of Christ: one was spiritual, made to his
mind, by the word that was proclaimed, when he pro
claimed his name, saying, " The Lord, the Lord God,
merciful and gracious, long suffering, and abundant in
goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, for
giving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will
by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the
fathers upon the children, and upon the children's child
ren, unto the third and to the fourth generation," Exod.
xxxiv. 6. &c. Another was external ; which was that
which Moses saw, when Christ passed by, and put him
in a cleft of the rock, and covered him with his hand, so
that Moses saw his back parts. What he saw was
doubtless the back parts of a glorious human form, in
which Christ appeared to him, and in all likelihood the
form of his glorified human nature, in which he should
afterwards appear. He saw not his face ; for it is not to
be supposed that any man could subsist under a sight
of the glory of Christ's human nature as it now appears.
So it was an human form in which Christ appeared to
the seventy elders, of which we have an account, Exod.
xxiv. 9, 10, 11. " Then went up Moses and Aaron, Nadab
and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel: and they
saw the God of Israel: and there was under his feet, as
it were a paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it were
the body of heaven in his clearness. And upon the
nobles of the children of Israel he laid not his hand: also
they saw God, and did eat and drink." So Christ ap
peared afterwards to Joshua in the form of the human
nature, Josh. v. 13, 14. "And it came to pass when
WORK OP REDEMPTION. 89
Joshua was by Jericho, he lift up his eyes, and looked,
and behold, there stood a man over against him, with
his sword drawn in his hand: and Joshua went unto
him, and said unto him, Art thou for us, or for our ad
versaries ] And he said, Nay, but as captain of the host
of the Lord am I now come." And so he appeared to
Gideon, Judg. vi. 11. &c. and so also to Manoah, Judg.
xiii. 17 — 21. Here Christ appeared to Manoah in a
representation both of his incarnation and death ; of
his incarnation, in that he appeared in a human form;
and of his death and sufferings, represented by the
sacrifice of a kid, and by his ascending up in the
flame of the sacrifice ; intimating, that it was he that
was the great sacrifice, that must be offered up to God
for a sweet savour, in the fire of his wrath, as that kid
was burned and ascended up in the flame. Christ thus
appeared, time after time, in the form of that nature he
was afterwards to take upon him ; because he now ap
peared on the same design, and to carry on the same
work, that he was to appear in that nature to work out
and carry on.
XVII. Another thing I would mention, done in this
period towards the work of redemption, is the beginning
of a succession of prophets, and erecting a school of the
prophets, in Samuel's time. There was something of
this spirit of prophecy in Israel after Moses, before Sam
uel. Joshua and many of the judges had a degree of it.
Deborah was a prophetess; and some of the high priests
were inspired with this spirit ; particularly Eli : and that
space of time was not wholly without instances of those
that were set apart of God especially to this office, and
so were called prophets. Such an one we read of, Judg.
vi. 8. " The Lord sent a prophet unto the children of Is
rael, which said unto them," &c. Such an one he seems
to have been that we read of, 1 Sam. ii. 27. " And there
came a man of God to Eli," &c.
But there was no such order of men upheld in Israel
for any constancy, before Samuel ; the want of it is taken
notice of in 1 Sam. iii. 1. "And the word of the Lord was
precious in those days ; there was no open vision." But
in Samuel there was begun a succession of prophets,
that was maintained continually from that time, at least
with very little interruption, until the spirit of prophecy
ceased, about Malachi's time: and therefore Samuel is
spoken of in the New Testament as the beginning of this
succession of prophets, Acts iii. 24. " And all the pro-
8*
90 A HISTORY OF THE
phets from Samuel, and those that follow after, as many
as have spoken, have foretold of these days." After
{Samuel was Nathan, and Gad, and Iddo, and Heinan,
and Asaph, and others. And afterwards, in the latter
end of Solomon's reign, we read of Ahijah; and in Jero
boam and Rehoboam's time we read of prophets ; and
so continually one prophet succeeded another, until the
captivity. We read in the writings of those prophets
that are inserted into the canon of the scriptures, of pro
phets as being a constant order of men upheld in the
land in those days : and in the time of the captivity there
were prophets still, as Ezekiel and Daniel ; and after the
captivity there were prophets, as Zechariah, Haggai, and
Malachi.
And because God intended a constant succession of
prophets from Samuel's time, therefore in his time was
begun a school of the prophets ; that is, a school of young
men, that were trained up under some great prophet,
who was their master and teacher in the study of divine
things, and the practice of holiness, to fit them for this
office as God should call them to it. Those young men
that belonged to these schools, were called the sons of
the prophets; and oftentimes they are called prophets.
These at first were under the tuition of Samuel. Thus
we read of Samuel's being appointed over them, 1 Sam.
xix. 20. " And when they saw the company of prophets
prophesying, and Samuel standing as appointed over
them." The company of prophets that we read of, 1
Sam. x. 5. were the same. Afterwards we read of their
being under Elijah. Elisha was one of his sons ; but he
desired to have a double portion of his spirit, as his suc
cessor, as his first born, as the eldest son was wont to
have a double portion of the estate of his father; and
therefore the sons of the prophets, when they perceived
that the spirit of Elijah rested on Elisha, submitted them
selves to him, and owned him for their master, as they
had done Elijah before him ; as you may see, 2 Kings ii.
15. "And when the sons of the prophets which were to
view at. Jericho, saw him, they said, The spirit of Elijah
doth rest on Elisha. And they bowed themselves to the
ground before him."
And so after this Elisha was their master or teacher;
he had the care and instruction of them ; as you may
see, 2 Kings iv. 38. "And Elisha came again to Gilgal,
and there was a dearth in the land, and the sons of the
prophets were sitting before him : and he said unto his
•WORK OP REDEMPTION. 91
servant, Set on the great pot, and seethe pottage for the
sons of the prophets." In Elijah's and EJisha's time,
there were several places where there resided companies
of these sons of the prophets; as there was one at Bethel,
and another at Jericho, and another at Gilgal, unless that
at Gilgal arid Jericho were the same: and possibly that
which is called the college, where the prophetess Huldah
resided, was another at^Jerusalem ; see 2 Kings xxii. 14.
It is there said of Huldah the prophetess, that " she dwelt
in Jerusalem, in the college." They had houses built,
where they used to dwell together; and therefore those
at Jericho being multiplied, and finding their house too
little for them, desired leave of their master and teacher
Elisha, that they might go and hew timber to build a
bigger; as you may see, 2 Kings vi. 1, 2.
At some times there were numbers of these sons of
the prophets in Israel ; for when Jezebel cut off the pro
phets of the Lord, it is said, that Obadiah took an hun
dred of them, and hid them by fifty in a cave, 1 Kings
xviii. 4.
These schools of the prophets being set up by Samuel,
and afterwards kept up by such great prophets as Elijah
and Elisha, must be of divine appointment ; and accord
ingly we find, that those sons of the prophets were often
favoured with a degree of inspiration, while they con
tinued under tuition in the schools of the prophets; and
God commonly, when he called any prophet to the con
stant exercise of the prophetical office, and to some ex
traordinary service, took them out of these schools;
though not universally. Hence the prophet Amos, speak
ing of his being called to the prophetical office, says, that
he was one that had not been educated in the schools of
the prophets, and was not one of the sons of the pro
phets, Amos vii. 14, 15. But Amos's taking notice of it
as remarkable, that he should be called to be a prophet
that had not been educated at the schools of the pro
phets, shows that it was God's ordinary manner to take
his prophets out of these schools ; for therein he did but
bless his own institution.
Now this remarkable dispensation of Providence that
we are upon, viz. God's beginning a constant succession
of prophets in Samuel's time, that was to last for many
ages ; and to that end, establishing a school of the pro
phets under Samuel, thenceforward to be continued in
Israel, was a step that God took in that great affair of
redemption that we are upon. For the main business
92
A HISTORY OF THE
of this succession of prophets was, to foreshow Christ
and the glorious redemption that he was to accomplish,
and so to prepare the way for his coming; as appears
by that forementioned place, Acts iii. 24. and by Acts x.
43. " To him give all the prophets witness ;" and by Acts
iii. 18. "But those things which God before had shewed
by the mouth of all his prophets, that Christ should suf
fer, he hath so fulfilled."
As I observed before, the Old Testament time was like
a time of night, wherein the church was not wholly with
out light, but had not the light of the sun directly, but as
reflected from the stars. Now these prophets were the
stars that reflected the light of the sun ; and accordingly
they spoke abundantly of Jesus Christ, as appears by
what we have of their prophecies in writing. And they
made it very much their business, when they studied in
their schools or colleges, and elsewhere, to search out
the work of redemption ; agreeable to what the apostle
Peter says of them, 1 Pet. i. 10, 11. "Of which salvation
the prophets have inquired, and searched diligently, who
prophesied of the grace that should come unto you ;
searching what, or what manner of time the spirit of
Christ that was in them did signify, when it testified be
forehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that
should follow." We are told, that the church of the Re
deemer is built on the foundation of the prophets and
apostles, the Redeemer himself being the chief corner
stone, Eph. ii. 20.
This was the first thing of the nature that ever was
done in the world ; and it was a great thing that God did
towards further advancing this great building of redemp
tion. There had been before occasional prophecies of
Christ, as was shown ; but now the time drawing nearer
when the Redeemer should come, it pleased God to ap
point a certain order of men, in constant succession,
whose main business it should be, to foreshow Christ
and his redemption, and as his forerunners to prepare
the way for his coming ; and God established schools,
wherein multitudes were instructed and trained up to
that end, Rev. xix. 10. "I am thy fellow servant, and of
thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus; for the
testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy."
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 03
PART Y.
FROM DAVID TO THE BABYLONISH CAPTIVITY.
I COME now to the fifth period of the times of the Old Tes
tament, beginning with David, and extending to the
Babylonish captivity ; and would now proceed to show
how the work of redemption was carried on through this
period also. — And here,
I. The first thing to be taken notice of, is God's an
ointing that person that was to be the ancestor of Christ,
to be king over his people. The dispensations of Provi
dence that have been taken notice of through the last
period, from Moses to this time, respect the people
whence Christ was to proceed. But now the scripture
history leads us to consider God's providence towards
that particular person whence Christ was to proceed,
viz. David. It pleased God at this time remarkably to
select out that person of whom Christ was to come, from
all the thousands of Israel, and to put a most honourable
mark of distinction upon him, by anointing him to be
king over his people. It was only God that could find
him out. His father's house is spoken of as being little
in Israel, and he was the youngest of all the sons of his
father, and was least expected "to be the man that God
had chosen, by Samuel. God had before, in the former
ages of the world, remarkably distinguished the persons
from whom Christ was to come; as he did Seth, and
Noah, and Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob. But the last
that we have any account of God's marking out in any
notable manner, the very person of whom Christ was to
come, was in Jacob's blessing his son Judah ; unless we
reckon Nahshon's advancement in the wilderness to be
the head of the tribe of Judah. But this distinction of
the person of whom Christ was to come, in David, was
very honourable; for it was God's anointing him to be
king over his people. And there was something further
denoted by David's anointing, than was in the anointing
of Saul. God anointed Saul to be king personally; but
God intended something further by sending Samuel to
IM A HISTORY OF THE
anoint David, viz. to establish the crown of Israel in him
and in his family, as long as Israel continued to be a
kingdom ; and not only so, but what was infinitely more
still, establishing the crown of his universal church, his
spiritual Israel, in his seed, to the end of the world, and
throughout all eternity.
This was a great dispensation of God, and a great
step taken towards a further advancing of the work of
redemption, according as the time drew near wherein
Christ was to come. David, as he was the ancestor of
Christ, so he was the greatest personal type of Christ of
all under the Old Testament. The types of Christ were
of three sorts; types of institution, or instituted types,
and providential, and personal types. The ordinance
of sacrificing was the greatest of the instituted types ;
and the redemption out of Egypt was the greatest of the
providential types ; and David the greatest of the per
sonal types. Hence Christ is often called David in the
prophecies of scripture; as Ezek. xxxiv. 23, 24. "And I
will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed
them, even my servant David: — my servant David a
prince among them ;" and so in many other places : and
he is very often spoken of as the seed of David, and the
son of David.
David being the ancestor and great type of Christ, his
being solemnly anointed by God to be king over his peo
ple that the kingdom of his church might be continued
in his family for ever, may in some respects be looked
on as an anointing of Christ himself. Christ was as it
were anointed in him ; and therefore Christ's anointing
and David's anointing are spoken of under one in scrip
ture, as Psa. Ixxxix. 20. "I have found David my ser
vant ; with my holy oil have I anointed him." And Da
vid's throne and Christ's are spoken of as one: Luke i.
32. " And the Lord shall give him the throne of his father
David." Acts ii. 30. " David — knowing that God had
sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins,
according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit
on his throne."
Thus God's beginning of the kingdom of his church in
the house of David, was, as it were, a new establishing
of the kingdom of Christ; the beginning of it in a state
of such visibility as it thenceforward continued in. It
was as it were God's planting the root, whence that
branch of righteousness was afterwards to spring up,
that was to be the everlasting king of his church ; and
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 95
therefore this everlasting king is called the branch from
the stem of Jesse. Isa. xi. 1. "And there shall come forth
a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a branch shall grow
out of his roots." Jer. xxiii. 5. "Behold, the days come,
saith the Lord, that I will raise up unto David a right
eous branch, and a king shall reign and prosper." So,
chap, xxxiii. 15. "In those days, and at that time, I will
cause the branch of righteousness to grow up unto Da
vid, and he shall execute judgment and righteousness in
the land." So Christ, in the New Testament, is called
the root and offspring of David, Rev. xxii. 16.
It is observable, that God anointed David after Saul to
reign in his room. He took away the crown from him
and his family, who was higher in stature than any of
his people, and was in their eyes fittest to bear rule, to
give it to David, who was low of stature, and in compa
rison, of despicable appearance: so God was pleased to
show how Christ, who appeared despicable, without form
or comeliness, and was despised and rejected of men,
should take the kingdom from the great ones of the earth.
And also it is observable, that David was the youngest
of Jesse's sons, as Jacob the younger brother supplanted
Esau, and got the birthright and blessing from him : and
as Pharez, another of Christ's ancestors, supplanted Za-
rah in the birth ; and as Isaac, another of the ancestors
of Christ, cast out his elder brother Ishmael ; thus was
that frequent saying of Christ fulfilled, " The last shall
be first, and the first last."
II. The next thing I would observe, is God's so preserv
ing David's life, by a series of wonderful providences, un
til Saul's death. I before took notice of the wonderful
preservation of other particular persons that were the
ancestors of Christ ; as Noah, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob;
and have observed how, in that Christ the great Redeem
er was to proceed, from them, that in their preservation,
the work of redemption itself may be looked upon as pre
served from being defeated, and the whole church, which
is redeemed through him, from being overthrown. But
the preservation of David was no less remarkable than
that of any others that have been already taken notice
of. How often was it so, that there was but a step be
tween him and death. The first instance of it we have
in his encountering a lion and a bear, when they had
caught a lamb out of his flock, which, without miracu
lous assistance, could at once have rent this young strip
ling in pieces, as they could the lamb that he delivered
96 A HISTORY OF THE
from them : so afterwards the root and offspring of Da
vid was preserved from the roaring lion that goes about
seeking whom he may devour, and conquered him and
rescued the poor souls of men, that were as lambs in the
mouth of this lion. Another remarkable instance was,
in preserving him from that mighty giant Goliath, who
was strong enough to have taken him, and picked him to
pieces with his fingers, and given his flesh to the beasts
of the field, and to the fowls of the air, as he threatened
him : but God preserved him from him, and gave him the
victory over him, so that he cut off his head with his own
sword, and made him therein the deliverer of his people;
as Christ slew the spiritual Goliath with his own weapon,
the cross, and so delivered his people. And how re
markably did God preserve him from being slain by Saul,
when he first sought his life, by giving him his daughter
to be a snare to him, that the hand of the Philistines might
be upon him, requiring him to pay for her by an hundred
foreskins of the Philistines, that so his life might be ex
posed to them ; and in preserving him afterwards, when
Saul spake to Jonathan, and to all his servants, to kill Da
vid ; and in inclining Jonathan, instead of killing him, as
his father bade him, to love him as his own soul, and to
be a great instrument of his preservation, even so as to
expose his own life to preserve David ; though one would
have thought that none would have been more willing to
have David killed than Jonathan, seeing that he was com
petitor with him for his father's crown ; and again saving
him, when Saul threw a javelin at him to smite him even
to the wall ; and again preserving him, when he sent mes
sengers to his house, to watch him, and to kill him, when
Michal, Saul's daughter, let him down through a window ;
and when he afterwards sent messengers, once and
again, to Naioth in Ramah, to take himT and they were
remarkably prevented time after time, by being seized
with miraculous impressions of the Spirit of God ; and
afterwards, when Saul, being resolute in the affair, went
himself, he also was among the prophets: and after this,
how wonderfully was David's life preserved at Gath,
among the Philistines, when he went to Achish the king
of Gaih, and was there in the hands of the Philistines,
who, one would have thought, would have dispatched
him at once, he having so much provoked them by his
exploits against them : and he was again wonderfully
preserved at Keilah, when he had entered into a fenced
town, where Saul thought he was sure of him. And how
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 97
wonderfully was he preserved from Saul, when he pur
sued arid hunted him in the mountains ! How remarka
bly did God deliver him in the wilderness of Maon, when
Saul and his army were compassing David about ! How
was he delivered in the cave of Engedi, when, instead of
Saul's killing David, God delivered Saul into his hands in
the cave, and he cut off his skirt, and might as easily
have cut off his head ; and afterwards delivering him in
like manner in the wilderness of Ziph ; and afterwards
again preserving him in the land of the Philistines, though
David had fought against the Philistines, and conquered
them at Keilah, since he was last among them ; which
one would think, would have been sufficient warning to
them not to trust him, or let him escape a second time, if
ever they had him in their hands again ; but yet now,
when they had a second opportunity, God wonderfully
turned their hearts to him to befriend and protect him, in
stead of destroying him !
Thus was the precious seed that virtually contained
the Redeemer, and all the blessings of his redemption,
wonderfully preserved, when hell and earth were con
spired against it to destroy it. How often does David
himself take notice of this, with praise and admiration,
in the book of Psalms !
III. About this time, the written word of God, or the
canon of Scripture, was added to by Samuel. I have
before observed, how that the canon of scripture was be
gun, and the first written word of God, the first written
rule of faith and manners that ever was, was given to
the church about Moses' time : and many, and I know
not but most divines, think it was added to by Joshua,
and that he wrote the last chapter of Deuteronomy, and
most of the book of Joshua. Others think that Joshua,
Judges, Ruth, and part of the first book of Samuel, were
written by Samuel. However that was, this we have
good evidence of, that Samuel made an addition to the
canon of scripture; for Samuel is manifestly mentioned
in the New Testament, as one of the prophets whose
writings we have in the scriptures, in that forementioned,
Acts iii. 24. " Yea, and all the prophets from Samuel, and
those that follow after, as many as have spoken, have
likewise foretold of these days." By that expression,
"as many as have spoken," cannot be meant, as many
as have spoken by word of mouth ; for never was any
prophet but what did that: but the meaning must be, as
many as have spoken by writing, so that what they
9
A HISTORV OF THE
have spoken has come down to us, that we may see
what it is.
And the way that Samuel spoke of these times of
Christ and the gospel, was by giving the history of those
things that typified them, and pointed to them, particu
larly the things concerning David that he wrote. The
Spirit of God moved him to commit those things to wri
ting, chiefly for that reason, because they pointed to
Christ, and the times of the gospel ; and, as was said be
fore, this was the main business of all that succession of
prophets, that began in Samuel, to foreshow these times.
That Samuel added to the canon of the scriptures,
seems further to appear from 1 Chron. xxix. 29. " Now
the acts of David the king, first and last, behold, they are
written in the book of Samuel the seer."
Whether the book of Joshua was written by Samuel
or not, yet it is the general opinion of divines, that the
books of Judges, and Ruth, and part of the first book of
Samuel, were penned by him. The book of Ruth was
penned for that reason, because, though it seemed to
treat of private affairs, yet the persons chiefly spoken of
in that book were of the family whence David and Christ
proceeded, and so pointed to what the apostle Peter -ob
served of Samuel and the other prophets, in the third chap
ter of Acts. The thus adding to the canon of the scrip
tures, the great and main instrument of the application
of redemption, is to be looked upon as a further carrying
on of that work, and an addition made to that great
building.
IV. Another thing God did towards this work, at that
time, was his inspiring David to show forth Christ and
his redemption, in divine songs, which should be for the
use of the church, in public worship, throughout all ages.
David was himself endued with the spirit of prophecy.
He is called a prophet, Acts ii. 29, 30. " Let me freely
speak to you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead
and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day:
therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had
sworn with an oath," &c. So that herein he was a type
of Christ, that he was both a prophet and a king. We
have no certain account of the time when David was
first endued with the spirit of prophecy ; but it is mani
fest, that it either was at the time that Samuel anointed
him, or very soon after ; for he appears soon after actuated
by this spirit, in the affair of Goliath : and then great part
of the psalms were penned in the time of his troubles,
WORK OP REDEMPTION. 99
before he came to the crown ; as might be made mani
fest by an induction of particulars.
The oil that was used in anointing David was a type
of the Spirit of God; and the type and the antitype were
given both together; as we are told, 1 Sam. xvi. 13.
" Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in
the midst of his brethren ; and the Spirit of the Lord
came upon David from that day forward:" and it is
probable, that it now came upon him in its prophetical
influences.
The way that this Spirit influenced him was, to inspire
him to show forth Christ, and the glorious things of his
redemption, in divine songs, sweetly expressing the
breathings of a pious soul, full of admiration of the glori
ous things of the Redeemer, inflamed with divine love,
and lifted up with praise; and therefore he is called the
sweet psaimist of Israel. 2 Sam. xxiii. 1. "Now these be
the last words of David : David the son of Jesse said,
and the man who was raised up on high, the anointed
of the God of Jacob, and the sweet psalmist of Israel."
The main subjects of these sweet songs were the glori
ous things of the gospel; as is evident by the interpreta
tion that is often put upon them, and the use that is made
of them in the New Testament; for there is no one book
of the Old Testament that is so often quoted in the New,
as the book of Psalms. Joyfully did this holy man sing
of those great things of Christ's redemption, that had
been the hope and expectation of God's church and peo
ple from the beginning of the church of God on earth ;
and joyfully did others follow him in it, as Asaph, Heman,
Ethan, and others ; for the book of Psalms was not all
penned by David, though the greater part of it was.
Hereby the canon of scripture was further added to ;
and an excellent portion of divine writ was it that was
added.
This was a great advancement that God made in this
building; and the light of the gospel, which had been
gradually growing from the fall, was exceedingly in
creased by it : for whereas before there was but here
and there a prophecy given of Christ in a great many
ages, now here Christ is spoken of by his ancestor Da
vid abundantly, in multitudes of songs, speaking of his
incarnation, life, death, resurrection, ascension into hea
ven, his satisfaction, intercession ; his prophetical, kingly,
and priestly office; his glorious benefits in this life and
that which is to come ; his union with the church, and
100 A HISTORY OF THE
the blessedness of the church in him ; the calling of the
Gentiles, the future glory of the church near the end of
the world, and Christ's coming to the final judgment.
All these things, and many more, concerning Christ and
his redemption, are abundantly spoken of in the book of
Psalms.
This was also a glorious advancement of the affair of
redemption, as God hereby gave his church a book of
divine songs for their use in that part of their public
worship, viz. singing his praises, throughout all ages to
the end of the world. It is manifest the book of Psalms
was given of God for this end. It was used in the church
of Israel by God's appointment : this is manifest by the
title of many of the psalms, in which they are inscribed
to the chief musician, i. e. to the man that was appointed
to be the leader of divine songs in the temple, in the
public worship of Israel. So David is called the sweet
psalmist of Israel, because he penned psalms for the use
of the church of Israel; and accordingly we have an ac
count that they were actually made use of in the church
of Israel for that end, even ages alter David was dead;
as 2 Chron. xxix. 30. " Moreover, Hezekiah the king,
and the princes, commanded the Levites to sing praises
unto the Lord, with the words of David, and of Asaph
the seer." And we find that the same are appointed in
the New Testament to be made use of in the Christian
church, in their worship : Eph. v. 19. " Speaking to your
selves in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs." Col. iii.
16. "Admonishing one another in psalms, hymns, and
spiritual songs." And so they have been, and will to the
end of the world be made use of in the church to cele
brate the praises of God. The people of God were wont
sometimes to worship God by singing songs to his praise
before; as they did at the Red Sea; and they had
Moses's prophetical song, in the xxxiid chapter of Deut
eronomy, committed to them for that end ; and Deborah
and Barak, and Hannah, sung praises to God ; but now
first did God commit to his church a book of divine
songs for their constant use.
V. The next thing I would take notice of, is God's ac
tually exalting David to the throne of Israel, notwith
standing all the opposition made to it. God was deter
mined to do it, and he made every thing give place that
stood in the way of it. He removed Saul and his sons
out of the way; and first set David over the tribe of Ju-
dah ; and then, having removed Ishbosheth, set him over
WORK OP REDEMPTION. 101
all Israel. Thus did God fulfil his word to David. He
took him from the sheepcote, and made him king over his
people Israel, Psa. Ixxviii. 70, 71. And now the throne
of Israel was established in that family in which it was
to continue for ever, even for ever and ever.
VI. Now first it was that God proceeded to choose a
particular city out of all the tribes of Israel to place his
name there. There is several times mention made in
the law of Moses, of the children of Israel's bringing
their oblations to the place which God should choose ;
as Deut. xii. 5, 6, 7. and so in many other places ; but
God had never proceeded to do it until now. The tab
ernacle and ark were never fixed, but sometimes in one
place, and sometimes in another ; but now God proceed
ed to choose Jerusalem. The city of Jerusalem was
never thoroughly conquered, or taken out of the hands
of the Jebusites, until David's time. It is said in Josh.
xv. 63. " As for the Jebusites, the inhabitants of Jerusa
lem, the children of Judah could not drive them out: but
the Jebusites dwell with the children of Judah at Jerusa
lem unto this day." But now David wholly subdued it,
as we have an account in 2 Sam. v. And now God pro
ceeded to choose that city to place his name there, as
appears by David's bringing up the ark thither soon
after ; and therefore this is mentioned afterwards as the
first time God proceeded to choose a city to place his
name there, 2 Chron. vi. 5, 6. and chap. xii. 13. After
wards God proceeded to show David the very place
where he would have his temple built, viz. in the thresh
ing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.
This city of Jerusalem is therefore called the holy city;
and it was the greatest type of the church of Christ in
all the Old Testament. It was redeemed by David, the
captain of the hosts of Israel, out of the hands of the Jebu
sites, to be God's city, the holy place of his rest for ever
where he would dwell; as Christ, the captain of his peo
ple's salvation, redeems his church out of the hands of
devils, to be his holy and beloved city. And therefore,
how often does the scripture, when speaking of Christ's
redemption of his church, call it by the names of Zion
and Jerusalem 1 This was the city that God had appoint
ed to be the place of the first gathering and erecting of
the Christian church after Christ's resurrection, of that
remarkable pouring out of the Spirit of God on the apos
tles and primitive Christians, and the place whence the
gospel was to sound forth into all the world; the place
9*
102
A HISTORY OF THE
of the first Christian church, that was to be, as it were,
the mother of all other churches through the world;
agreeable to that prophecy, Isa. ii. 3, 4. " Out of Zion
shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from
Jerusalem : and he shall judge among the nations, and
shall rebuke many people," &c.
Thus God chose Mount Sion whence the gospel was
to be sounded forth, as the law had been from Mount
Sinai.
VII. The next thing to be observed here, is God's
solemnly renewing the covenant of grace with David,
and promising that the Messiah should be of his seed.
We have an account of it in the seventh chapter of the se
cond book of Samuel. It was done on occasion of the
thoughts David entertained of building God an house.
On this occasion God sends Nathan the prophet to him,
with the glorious promises of the covenant of grace. It
is especially contained in these words in the 16th verse:
"and thy house and thy kingdom shall be established for
ever before thee; thy throne shall be established for
ever." Which promise has respect to Christ, the seed
of David, and is fulfilled in him only: for the kingdom
of David has long since ceased, any otherwise than as it
is upheld in Christ. The temporal kingdom of the house
of David has now ceased for a great many ages; much
longer than ever it stood.
That this covenant that God now established with Da- -
vid by Nathan the prophet, was the covenant of grace,
is evident by the plain testimony of scripture, in Isa. lv.
1, 2, 3. There we have Christ inviting sinners to come
to the waters, &c. And in the 3d verse, he says, " In
cline your ear, come unto me ; hear, and your souls shall
live; and I will make with you an everlasting covenant,
even the sure mercies of David." Here Christ offers to
poor sinners, if they will come to him, to give them an
interest in the same everlasting covenant that he had
made with David, conveying to them the same sure
mercies. But, what is that covenant that sinners obtain
an interest in, when they come to Christ, but the cove
nant of grace ]
This was the fifth solemn establishment of the cove
nant of grace with the church after the fall. The cove
nant of grace was revealed and established all along.
T>ut there had been particular seasons, wherein God had
in a very solemn manner renewed this covenant with his
church, giving forth a new edition and establishment of
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 103
it, revealing it in a new manner. This was now the
fifth solemn establishment of that covenant. The first
was with Adam, the second was with Noah, the third
was with the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the
fourth was in the wilderness by Moses, and now the fifth
is this made to David.
This establishment of the covenant of grace with Da
vid, David always esteemed the greatest smile of God
upon him, the greatest honour of all that God had put
upon him; he prized it, and rejoiced in it above all the
other blessings of his reign. You may see how joyfully
and thankfully he received it, when Nathan came to him
with the glorious message, in 2 Sam. vii. 18. &c. And
so David, in his last words, declares this to be all his sal
vation, and all his desire; as you may see, 2 Sam. xxiii.
5. " He hath made with me an everlasting covenant, or
dered in all things and sure: for this is all my salvation,
and all my desire.
YTIII. It was by David that God first gave his people
Israel the possession of the whole promised land. I have
before shown, how God's giving the possession of the
promised land belonged to the covenant of grace. This
was done in a great measure by Joshua, but not fully.
Joshua did not wholly subdue that part of the promised
land that was strictly called the land of Canaan, and that
was divided by lot to the several tribes; but there were
great numbers of the old inhabitants left unsubdued, as
we read in the books of Joshua and Judges ; and there
were many left to prove Israel, and to be thorns in their
sides, and pricks in their eyes. There were the Jebu-
sites in Jerusalem, and many of the Canaanites, and the
whole nation of the Philistines, who all dwelt in that part
of the land that was divided by lot, and chiefly in that
part of the land that belonged to the tribes of Judah and
Ephraim.
And thus these remains of the old inhabitants of Oa-
naan continued unsubdued until David's time; but he
wholly subdued them all. Which is agreeable to what
Stephen observes, Acts vii. 45. " Whichf also our fathers
brought in with Jesus (i. e. Joshua) into the possession
of the Gentiles, whom God drove out before the face of
our fathers, unto the days of David." They were until
the days of David in driving them out, before they had
wholly subdued them. But David entirely brought
them under. He subdued the Jebusites, and he subdued
the whole nation of the Philistines, and all the rest of the
104 A HISTORY OF THE
remains of the seven nations of Canaan: 1 Chron. xviii.
1. "i\ow after this it came to pass, that David smote the
Philistines, and subdued them, and took Gath and her
towns out of the hands of the Philistines."
After this, all the remains of the former inhabitants of
Canaan were made bond servants to the Israelites. The
posterity of the Gibeonites became servants before, hew
ers of wood and drawers of water, for the house of God.
But Solomon, David's son and successor, put all the
other remains of the seven nations of Canaan to bond
service ; at least made them pay a tribute of bond ser
vice, as you may see, 1 Kings ix. 20, 21, 22. And hence
we read of the children of Solomon's servants, after the
return from the Babylonish captivity, Ezra ii. 55. and
Neh. xi. 3. They were the children or posterity of the
seven nations of Canaan, that Solomon had subjected to
bond service.
Thus David subdued the whole land of Canaan, strict
ly so called. But then that was not one half, nor quart
er, of the land God had promised to their fathers. The
land that God had often promised to their fathers, in
cluded all the countries from the river of Egypt to the
river Euphrates. These were the bounds of the land
promised to Abraham, Gen. xv. 18. "In that same day
the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto
thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt,
unto the great river, the river Euphrates." So again
God promised at Mount Sinai, Exod. xxiii. 31. "And I
will set thy bounds from the Red Sea even unto the sea
of the Philistines, and from the desert unto the river: for
I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand:
and thou shalt drive them out before thee." So again,
Dent. xi. 24. " Every place whereon the soles of your
feet shall tread, shall be yours : from the wilderness, and
Lebanon, from the river, the river Euphrates, even unto
the uttermost sea, shall your coast be." Again, the same
promise is made to Joshua : Josh. i. 3, 4. " Every place
that the sole of your feet shall tread upon, have I given
unto you, as I said unto Moses ; from the wilderness and
this Lebanon, even unto the great river, the river Eu
phrates, all the land of the Hittites, and unto the great
sea, towards the going down of the sun, shall be your
coast." But the land that Joshua gave the people the
possession of, was but a little part of this land. And the
people never had had the possession of jt, untJJ now when
God gave it them by David.
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 105
This large country did not only include that Canaan
that was divided by lot to those who came in with
Joshua, but the land "of the Moabites and Ammonites, the
land of the Amalekites, and the rest of the Edomites, and
the country ofZobah. All these nations were subdued
and brought under the children of Israel by David. And
he put garrisons in the several countries, and they be
came David's servants, as we have a particular account
in the eighth chapter of 2d Samuel: and David extended
their border to the river Euphrates, as was promised ;
see the 3d verse : " and David smote also Hadadezer the
son of Rehob, king of Zobah, as he went to recover his
border at the river Euphrates." And accordingly we
read, that Solomon his son reigned over all the regions
on this side the river, 1 Kings iv. 24. " For he had do
minion over all the region on this side the river, from
Tiphsah even unto Azzah, over all the kings on this side
the river." This Artaxerxes king of Persia takes notice
of long after: Ezra iv. 20. "There have been mighty
kings also over Jerusalem, which have ruled over all
countries beyond the river ; and toll, tribute, and custom
was paid unto them."
So that Joshua, that type of Christ, did but begin the
work of giving Israel the possession of the promised land ;
but left it to be finished by that much greater type and
ancestor of Christ, even David, who subdued far more
of that land than ever Joshua had done. And in this ex
tent of his and Solomon's dominion was some resem
blance of the great extent of Christ's kingdom; and
therefore the extent of Christ's kingdom is set forth by
this very thing, of its being over all lands, from the Red
Sea to the sea of the Philistines, and over all lands from
thence to the river Euphrates; as Psa. Ixxii. 8. "He
shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the
river unto the ends of the earth." See also 1 Kings
viii. 56.
IX. God by David perfected the Jewish worship, and
added to it several new institutions. The law was given
by Moses, but yet all the institutions of the Jewish wor
ship were not given by Moses; some were added by di
vine direction. So this greatest of all personal types of
Christ did not only perfect Joshua's work, in giving Is
rael the possession of the promised land, but he also fin
ished Moses's work, in perfecting the instituted worship
of Israel. Thus there must be a number of typical pro
phets, priests, and princes, to complete one figure or
106 A HISTORY OF THE
shadow of Christ the antitype, he being the substance
of all the types and shadows. Of so much more glory
was Christ accounted worthy, than Moses, Joshua, Da
vid, and Solomon, and all the great prophets, priests, and
princes, judges, and saviours of the Old Testament put
together.
The ordinances of David are mentioned as of parallel
validity with those of Moses, 2 Chron. xxiii. 18. "Also
Jehoiada appointed the offices of the house of the Lord
by the hand of the priests the Levites, whom David had
distributed in the house of the Lord, to offer the burnt
offerings of the Lord, as it is written in the law of Moses,
with rejoicing and with singing, as it was ordained by
David." The worship of Israel was perfected by David,
by the addition that he made to the ceremonial law,
which we have an account of in the xxiiid, xxivth, xxvth,
and xxvith chapters of the first book of Chronicles, con
sisting in the several orders and courses into which Da
vid divided the Levites, and the work and business to
which he appointed them, different from what Moses
had appointed them to ; and also in the divisions of the
priests the sons of Aaron into four and twenty courses,
assigning to every course their business in the house of
the Lord, and their particular stated times of attendance
there; and appointing some of the Levites to a new of
fice, that had not been appointed before ; and that was
the office of singers; and particularly ordering and regu
lating of them in that office, as you may see in the xxvth
chapter of 1 Chronicles ; and appointing others of the
Levites by law to the several services of porters, treasur
ers, officers, and judges: and these ordinances of David
were kept up henceforth in the church of Israel, as long
as the Jewish church lasted. Thus we find the several
orders of priests, and the Levites, the porters, and sing
ers, after the captivity. So we find the courses of the
priests appointed by David still continuing in the New
Testament ; so Zacharias the father of John the Baptist
was a priest of the course of Abia ; which is the same
with the course of Abijah appointed by David, that we
read of 1 Chron. xxiv. 10.
Thus David as well as Moses was made like to Christ
the son of David, in this respect, that by him God gave
a new ecclesiastical establishment, and new institutions
of worship. David did not only add to the institutions
of Moses, but by those additions he abolished some of
the old institutions of Moses that had been in force unti
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 107
that time ; particularly those laws of Moses that appoint
ed the business of the Levites, which we have in the
third and fourth chapters of Numbers, which very much
consisted in their charge of the several parts and uten
sils of the tabernacle there assigned to them, and in car
rying those several parts of the tabernacle. But those
laws were now abolished by David ; and they were no
more to carry those things, as they had been used to do
until David's time. But David appointed them to other
work instead of it ; see 1 Chron. xxiii. 26. " And also
unto the Levites; they shall no more carry the taber
nacle, nor any vessels of it for the service thereof:" a
sure evidence that the ceremonial law given by Moses
is not perpetual, as the Jews suppose; but might be
wholly abolished by Christ: for if David, a type of the
Messiah, might abolish the law of Moses in part, much
more might the Messiah himself abolish the whole.
David, by God's appointment, abolished all use of the
tabernacle, that was built by Moses, and of which he had
the pattern from God: for God now revealed it to David
to be his will, that a temple should be built, that should
be instead of the tabernacle : a great presage of what
Christ, the son of David, would do, when he should
come, viz. abolish the whole Jewish ecclesiastical consti
tution, which was but as a movable tabernacle, to set
up the spiritual gospel temple, which was to be far more
glorious, and of greater extent, and was to last for ever.
David had the pattern of all things pertaining to the
temple showed him, even in like manner as Moses had
the pattern of the tabernacle: and Solomon built the
temple according to that pattern which he had from his
father David, which he received from God. 1 Chron.
xxviii. 11, 12. "Then David gave to Solomon his son the
pattern of the porch, and of the houses thereof, and of
the treasuries thereof, and of the upper chambers there
of, and of the inner parlours thereof, and of the place of
the mercy seat, and the pattern of all that he had by the
spirit, of the courts of the house of the Lord, and of all
the chambers round about, of the treasuries of the house
of God, and of the treasuries of the delicate things."
And, ver. 19. ''All this, said David, the Lord made me
understand in writing by his hand upon me, even all the
works of this pattern."
X. The canon of scripture seems at or after the close
of David's reign to be added to by the prophets Nathan
and Gad. It appears probable by the scriptures, that
108 A HISTORY OF THE
they carried on the history of the two books of Samuel
from the place where Samuel left it, and finished it.
These two books of Samuel seem to be the book that in
the scripture is called the book of Samuel the seer, and
Nathan the prophet, and Gad the seer, as in I Chron
xxix. 29. " Now the acts of David the king, first and last,
behold, they are written in the book of Samuel the seer,
and in the book of Nathan the prophet, and in the book
of Gad the seer.1'
XI. The next thing I would take notice of, is God's
wonderfully continuing the kingdom of his visible people
in the line of Christ's legal ancestors, as long as they re
mained an independent kingdom. — Thus it was without
any interruption worth taking not ce of. Indeed the king
dom of all the tribes of Israel was not kept in that line
but the dominion of that part of Israel in which the true
worship of God was upheld, and so of that part that were
God's visible people, was always kept in the family of
David, as long as there was any such thing as an inde
pendent king of Israel ; according to his promise to Da
vid: and not only in the family of David, but always in
that part of David's posterity that was the line whence
Christ was legally descended ; so that the very person
that was Christ's legal ancestor was always in the throne,
excepting Jehoahaz, who reigned three months, and Ze-
dekiah ; as you may see in Matthew's genealogy of Christ.
Christ was legally descended from the kings of Judah,
though he was not naturally descended from them. He
was both legally and naturally descended from David.
He was naturally descended from Nathan the son of Da
vid ; for Mary his mother was one of the posterity of
David by Nathan, as you may see in Luke's genealogy :
but Joseph, the reputed and legal father of Christ, was
naturally descended of Solomon and his successors, as
we have an account in Matthew's genealogy. Jesus-
Christ, though he was not the natural son of Joseph, yet,
by the law and constitution of the Jews, he was Joseph's
heir; because he was the lawful son of Joseph's lawful
wife, conceived while she was his legally espoused wife.
The Holy Ghost raised up seed to him. A person by
the law of Moses, might be the legal son and heir of an
other, whose natural son he was not; as sometimes a
man raised up seed to his brother: a brother, in some
cases, was to build up a brother's house; so the Holy
Ghost built up Joseph's house.
And Joseph being in the direct line of the kings ol
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 109
Judah, of the house of David, he was the legal heir of the
crown of David; and Christ being legally his first born
son, he was his heir; and so Christ, by the law, was the
proper heir of the crown of David, and is therefore-said
to sit upon the throne of his father David.
The crown of God's people was wonderfully kept in
the line of Christ's legal ancestors. When David was
old, and not able any longer to manage the affairs of the
kingdom, Adonijah, one of his sons, set up to be king,
and seemed to have obtained his purpose ; all things for
a while seemed fair on his side, and he thought himself
strong; the thing he aimed at seemed to be accomplish
ed. But so it was, Adonijah was not the son of David
that was the ancestor of Joseph, the legal father of Christ;
and therefore how wonderfully did Providence work
here ! What a strange and sudden revolution ! All Ado-
nijah's kingdom and glory vanished away as soon as it
was begun ; and Solomon, the legal ancestor of Christ,
was established in the throne.
And after Solomon's death, when Jeroboam had con
spired against the family, and Rehoboam carried him
self so that it was a wonder all Israel was not provoked
to forsake him, and ten tribes did actually forsake him,
and set up Jeroboam in opposition to him ; and though
he was a wicked man, and deserved to have been re
jected altogether from being king ; yet he being the legal
ancestor of Christ, God kept the kingdom of the two
tribes, in which the true religion was upheld, in his pos
session: and though he had been wicked, and his son
Abijam was another wicked prince, yet they being le
gal ancestors of Christ, God still continued the crown in
the family, and gave it to Abijam's son Asa. And after
wards, though many of the kings of Judah were very
wicked men, and horridly provoked God, as particularly
Jehoram, Ahaziah, Ahaz, Manasseh and Amon ; yet God
did not take away the crown from their family, but gave
it to their sons, because they were the ancestors of
Christ. God's remembering his covenant that he had
established with David, is given as the reason why God
did thus, notwithstanding their wicked lives; as 1 Kings
xv. 4. speaking there of Abijarn's wickedness, it is said,
"Nevertheless, for David's sake did the Lord his God
give him a lamp in Jerusalem, to set up his son after him,
and to establish Jerusalem ;" so, 2 Chron. xxi. 7. speak
ing there of JehorunVs great wickedness, it is said,
"Howbeit, the Lord would not destroy the house of Da-
10
110 A HISTORY OF THE
vicl, because of the covenant that he had made with Da
vid, and as he promised to give a light unto him, and tc
his sons for ever."
The crown of the ten tribes was changed from one
family to another continually. First, Jeroboam took it ;
but the crown remained in his family but for one gene
ration after his death ; it only descended to his son Na-
dab: and then Baasha, that was of another family, took
it ; and it remained in his posterity but one generation
after his death : and then Zimri, that was his servant,
and not of his posterity, took it: and then, without de
scending at all to his posterity, Omri, that was of another
family, took it ; and the crown continued in his family
for three successions : and then Jehu, that was of an
other family, took it; and the crown continued in his
family for three or four successions: and then Shallum,
that was of another family, took it: and the crown did
not descend^at all to his posterity ; but Menahem, that was
of another family, took it ; and it remained in his family
but one generation after him ; and then Pekah, that was
of another family, took it: and after him Hoshea, that
was still of another family, took it: so great a difference
was there between the crown of Israel and the crown of
Judah; the one was continued evermore in the same
family, and with very little interruption, in one right
line ; the other was continually tossed about from one
family to another, as if it were the sport of fortune. The
reason was not, because the kings of Judah, many of
them, were better than the kings of Israel ; but the one
had the blessing in them ; they were the ancestors of
Christ, whose right it was to sit on the throne of Israel.
But with the kings of Israel it was not so; and therefore
divine Providence exercised a continual care, through
all the changes that happened through so many genera
tions, and such a long space of time, to keep the crown
of Judah in one direct line, in fulfilment of the everlast
ing covenant he had made with David, the mercies of
which covenant were sure mercies; but in the other
case there was no such covenant, and so no such care
of Providence.
And here it must not be omitted, that there was once
a very strong conspiracy of the kings of Syria and Is
rael, in the time of that wicked king of Judah, Ahaz, to
dispossess Ahaz and his family of the throne of Judah,
and to set one of another family, even the son of Tabeal
on it ; as you may see in Isa. vii. 6, " Let us go up against
WORK OF REDEMPTION. Ill
Judah, and vex it, and let us make a breach therein for
us, and set a king in the midst of it, even the son of Ta-
beal." And they seemed very likely to accomplish their
purpose. —There seemed to be so great a likelihood of it,
that the hearts of the people sunk within them; they
gave up the cause. It is said, "The heart of Ahaz and
his people was moved as the trees of the wood are moved
with the wind." And on this occasion God sent the pro
phet Isaiah to encourage the people, and tell them that it
should not come to pass. And because it looked so
much like a gone cause, that Ahaz and the people would
very difficultly believe that it would not be, therefore
God directs the prophet to give them this sign of it, viz.
that Christ should be born of the legal seed of Ahaz ; as
Isa. vii. 14. "Therefore the Lord himself shall give you
a sign : behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son,
and shall call his name Immanuel." This was a good
sign, and a great confirmation of the truth of what God
promised by Isaiah, viz. that the kings of Syria and Is
rael should never accomplish their purpose of dispossess
ing the family of Ahaz of the crown of Judah, and set
ting up the son of Tabeal ; for Christ the Immanuel was
to be of them.
I have mentioned this dispensation of Providence in
this place, because though it was continued for so long
a time, yet it began in Solomon's succession to the throne
of his father David.
XII. The next thing I would take notice of is, the
building of the temple: a great type of three things, viz.
of Christ, especially the human nature of Christ; of the
church of Christ; and of heaven. The tabernacle seem
ed rather to represent the church in its movable, change
able state, here in this world. But that beautiful, glori
ous, costly structure of the temple, that succeeded the
tabernacle, and was a fixed, and not a movable thing,
seems especially to represent the church in its glorified
state in heaven. This temple was built according to the
pattern shown by the Holy Ghost to David, and by di
vine direction given to David, in the place where was
the threshing floor of Oman the Jebusite, in Mount Mo-
riah, 2 Chron. iii. 1. in the same mountain, and doubtless
in the very same place, where Abraham offered up his
son Isaac; for that is said to be a mountain in the land
of Moriah, Gen. xxii. 2. which mountain was called the
mountain of the Lord, as this mountain of the temple
was, Gen. xxii. 14. "And Abraham called the name of
112 A HISTORY OF THE
that place Jehovahjireh ; as it is said to this day, In the
mount of the Lord it shall be seen."
This was the house where Christ dwelt, until he came
to dwell in the temple of his body, or human nature,
which was the antitype of this temple; as appears, be
cause Christ, on occasion of showing him the temple of
Jerusalem, says, " Destroy this temple, and in three days
will I raise it up," speaking of the temple of his body,
John ii. 19, 20. This house, or an house built in this
place, continued to be the house of God, the place of the
worship of his church, until Christ came. Here was the
place that God chose, where all their sacrifices were of
fered up, until the great sacrifice came, and made the
sacrifice and oblation to cease. Into his temple in this
place the Lord came, even the messenger of the cove
nant. Here he often delivered his heavenly doctrine,
and wrought miracles; here his church was gathered by
the pouring out of the Spirit, after his ascension. Luke
xxiv. 53. speaking of the disciples, after Christ's ascen
sion, it is said, " And they were continually in the temple,
praising and blessing God." And, Acts ii. 46. speaking
of the multitudes that were converted by that great out
pouring of the Spirit that was on the day of Pentecost,
it is said, " And they continued daily with one accord in
the temple." And, Acts v. 42. speaking of the apostles,
"And daily in the temple, and in every house, they
ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ." And
hence the sound of the gospel went forth, and the church
spread into all the world.
XIII. It is here worthy to be observed, that at this
time, in Solomon's reign, after the temple was finished,
the Jewish church was risen to its highest external
glory. The Jewish church, or the ordinances and con
stitution of it, is compared to the moon, in Rev. xii. 1.
"And there appeared a great wonder in heaven, a wo
man clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet,
and upon her head a crown of twelve stars." As this
church was like the moon in many other respects, so it
was in this, that it waxed and waned like the moon.
From the first foundation of it, that was laid in the cove
nant made with Abraham, when this moon was now be
ginning to appear, it had to this time been gradually in
creasing in its glory. This time, wherein the temple
was finished and dedicated, was about the middle be
tween the calling of Abraham and the coming of Christ,
and now it was full moon. After this the glory of the
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 113
Jewish church gradually decreased, until Christ came ;
as I shall have occasion more particularly to observe
afterwards.
Now the church of Israel was in its highest external
glory: now Israel was multiplied exceedingly, so that
they seemed to have become like the sand on the sea
shore, 1 Kings iv. 20. Now the kingdom of Israel was
firmly established in the right family, the family of which
Christ was to come : nowr God had chosen the city where
he would place his name : now God had fully given his
people the possession of the promised land; and they
now possessed the dominion of it all in quietness and
peace, even from the river of Egypt, to the great river
Euphrates ; all those nations that had formerly been their
enemies, quietly submitted to them ; none pretended to
rebel against them : — now the Jewish worship in all its
ordinances was fully settled : — now, instead of a mov
able tent and tabernacle, they had a glorious temple ;
the most magnificent, beautiful, and costly structure,
that there was then, ever had been, or ever has been
since: now the people enjoyed peace and plenty, and sat
every man under his vine and fig tree, eating and drink
ing, and making merry, as 1 Kings iv. 20. — Now they
were in the highest pitch of earthly prosperity, silver be
ing as plenty as stones, and the land full of gold and
precious stones, and other precious foreign commodities,
which were brought by Solomon's ships from Ophir, and
which came from other parts of the world : — now they
had a king reigning over them that was the wisest of
men, and probably the greatest earthly prince that ever
was: — now their fame went abroad into all the earth, so
that they came from the utmost parts of the earth to see
their glory and their happiness.
Thus God was pleased, in one of the ancestors of
Christ, remarkably to shadow forth the kingdom of
Christ reigning in his glory. David, that was a man of
war, a man who had shed much blood, and whose life
was full of troubles and conflicts, was more of a repre
sentation of Christ in his state of humiliation, his militant
state, wherein he was conflicting with his enemies. But
Solomon, that was a man of peace, was a representation
more especially of Christ exalted, triumphing, and reign
ing in his kingdom of peace. And the happy glorious
state of the Jewish church at that time, did remarkably
represent two things: 1. That glorious state of the
church on earth that shall be in the latter ages of the
10*
114 A HISTORY OF THE
world ; those days of peace, when nation shall not lift
sword against nation, nor learn war any more. 2. The
future glorified state of the church in heaven. The
earthly Canaan never was so lively a type of the hea
venly Canaan, as it was then, when the happy people of
Israel did indeed enjoy it as a land flowing with milk
and honey.
XIV. After this the glory of the Jewish church grad
ually declined more and more until Christ came ; yet
not so but that the work of redemption still went on.
Whatever failed or declined, God still carried on this
work from age to age ; this building was still advancing
higher and higher. Things still went on, during the de
cline of the Jewish church, towards a further prepara
tion of things for the coming of Christ, as well as during
its increase ; for so wonderfully were things ordered by
the infinitely wise Governor of the world, that whatever
happened was ordered for good to this general design,
and made a means of promoting it. When the people
of the Jews flourished, and were in prosperity, he made
that to contribute to the promoting this design ; and
when they were in adversity, God made that also to
contribute to the carrying on of the same design. While
the Jewish church was in its increasing state, the work
of redemption was carried on by their increase; and
when they came to their declining state, which they
were in from Solomon's time until Christ, God carried
on the work of redemption by that. That decline itself
was one thing that God made use of as a further prepa-
tion for Christ's coming.
As the moon, from the time of its full, is approaching
nearer and nearer to her conjunction with the sun ; so
her light is still more and more decreasing, until at
length, when the conjunction comes, it is wholly swal
lowed up in the light of the sun. So it was with the
Jewish church from the time of its highest glory in Solo
mon's time. In the latter end of Solomon's reign, the
state of things began to darken, by Solomon's corrupt
ing himself with idolatry, which much obscured the glory
of this mighty and wise prince; and withal troubles be
gan to arise in his kingdom ; and after his death the
kingdom was divided, and ten tribes revolted, and with
drew their subjection from the house of David, withal
falling away from the true worship of God in the templo
at Jerusalem, and setting up the golden calves of Bethel
and Dan. And presently after this the number of the
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 115
ten tribes was greatly diminished in the battle of Jero
boam with Abijah, wherein there fell down slain of Israel
five hundred thousand chosen men ; which loss the king
dom of Israel probably never in any measure recovered.
The ten tribes finally apostatized from the true God
under Jeroboam, and the kingdom of Judah was greatly
corrupted, and from that time forward were more gene
rally in a corrupt state than otherwise. In Ahab's time
the kingdom of Israel did not only worship the calves of
Bethel and Dan, but the worship of Baal was introduced.
Before, they pretended to worship the true God by these
images, the calves of Jeroboam; but now Ahab intro
duced gross idolatry, and the direct worship of false gods
in the room of the true God; and soon after the worship
of Baal was introduced into the kingdom of Judah, viz.
in Jehoram's reign, by his marrying Athaliah the daugh
ter of Ahab. After this God began to cut Israel short,
by finally destroying and sending into captivity that part
of the land that was beyond Jordan, as you may see in
2 Kings x. 32. &c. And then after this Tiglathpileser
subdued and captivated all the northern parts of the
land ; 2 Kings xv. 29. and then at last all the land of the
ten tribes was subdued by Salmaneser, and they were
finally carried captive out of their own land. After this
also the kingdom of Judah was carried captive into Ba
bylon, and a great part of the nation never returned.
Those that returned \vere but a small number, compared
with what had been carried captive ; and for the most
part after this they were dependent on the power of
other states, being subject one while to the kings of Per
sia, then to the monarchy of the Grecians, and then to
the Romans. And before Christ's time, the church of
the Jews was become exceeding corrupt, overrun with
superstition and self righteousness. And how small a
flock was the church of Christ in the days of his incar
nation !
God, by this gradual decline of the Jewish state and
church from Solomon's time, prepared the way for the
coming of Christ several ways.
1. The decline of the glory of this legal dispensation,
made way for the introduction of the more glorious dis
pensation of the gospel. The decline of the glory of the
legal dispensation, was to make way for the introduc
tion of the evangelical dispensation, that was so much
more glorious, that the legal dispensation had no glory
in comparison with it. The glory of the ancient dispen-
116 A HISTORY OF THE
sation, such as it was in Solomon's time, consisting so
much in external glory, was but a childish glory, com
pared with the spiritual glory of the dispensation intro
duced by Christ. The church, under the Old Testament,
was a child under tutors and governors, and God dealt
with it as a child. Those pompous externals are called
by the apostle, weak and beggarly elements. It was fit
that those things should be diminished as Christ ap
proached ; as John the Baptist, the forerunner of Christ,
speaking of Christ, says, "He must increase, but I must
decrease," John iii. 30. It is fit that the twinkling stars
should gradually withdraw their glory, when the sun is
approaching towards his rising. The glory of the Jew
ish dispensation must be gradually diminished, to pre
pare the way for the more joyful reception of the spirit
ual glory of the gospel. If the Jewish church, when
Christ came, had been in the same external glory that it
was in, in the reign of Solomon, men would have had
their eyes so dazzled with it, that they would not have
been likely joyfully to exchange such great external
glory, for only the spiritual glory of the poor despised
Jesus. Again,
2. This gradual decline of the glory of the Jewish state,
tended to prepare the way for Christ's coming another
way, viz. as it tended to make the glory of God's power,
in the great effects of Christ's redemption, the more con
spicuous. God's people being so diminished and weak
ened by one step after another, until Christ came, was
very much like the diminishing Gideon's army. God
told Gideon, that the people that was with him, was too
many for him to deliver the Midianites into their hands,
lest Israel should vaunt themselves against him, saying,
"My own hand hath saved me." And therefore all that
were fearful were commanded to return ; and there re
turned twenty and two thousand, and there remained
ten thousand. But still they were too many; and then,
by trying the people at the water, they were reduced to
three hundred men. So the people in Solomon's time
were too many, and mighty, and glorious for Christ ,
therefore he diminished them ; first, by sending off the
ten tribes; and then he diminished them again by the cap
tivity into Babylon ; and then they were further diminish
ed by the great and general corruption that there was
when Christ came; so that Christ found very few godly
persons among them : and with a small handful of dis-
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 117
ciples, Christ conquered the world. Thus high things
were brought down, that Christ might be exalted.
3. This prepared the way for Christ's coming, as it
made the salvation of those Jews that were saved by
Christ, to be more sensible and visible. Though the
greater part of the nation of the Jews was rejected, and
the Gentiles called in their room ; yet there were a great
many thousands of the Jews that were saved by Christ
after his resurrection, Acts xxi. 20. They being taken
from so low a state under temporal calamity in their
bondage to the Romans, and from a state of great super
stition and wickedness, that the Jewish nation was then
fallen into ; it made their redemption the more sensibly
and visibly glorious.
I have taken notice of this dispensation of Providence
in the gradual decline of the Jewish church in this place,
because it began in the reign of Solomon.
XV. I would here take notice of the additions that
were made to the canon of scripture in or soon after the
reign of Solomon. There were considerable additions
made by Solomon himself, who wrote the books of Pro
verbs and Ecclesiastes, probably near the close of his
reign. His writing the Song of Songs, as it is called, is
what is especially here to be taken notice of, which is
wholly on the subject that we are upon, viz. Christ and
his redemption, representing the high and glorious rela
tion, and union, and love, that is between Christ and his
redeemed church. And the history of the scripture
seems, in Solomon's reign, and some of the next succeed
ing reigns, to have been added to by the prophets Na
than and Ahijah, and Shemaiah and Iddo. It is probable
that part of the history which we have in the first of
Kings, was written by them, by what is said, 2 Chron.
ix. 29. and in chap. xii. 15. and in chap. xiii. 22.
XVI. God's wonderfully upholding his church and the
true religion through this period. It was very wonder
ful considering the many and great apostasies that were
of that people to idolatry. When the ten tribes had gen
erally and finally forsaken the true worship of God, God
kept up the true religion in the kingdom of Judah ; and
when they corrupted themselves, as they very often did
exceedingly, and idolatry was ready totally to swallow
all up, yet God kept the lamp alive, and was often pleas
ed, when thin ITS seemed to be come to an extremity, and
religion at its last gasp, to grant blessed revivals by re .
118 A HISTORY OF THE
markable outpourings of his Spirit, particularly in Heze-
kiah's and Josiah's time.
XVII. God remarkably kept the book of the law from
being lost in times of general and long continued neglect
of and enmity against it. The most remarkable instance
of this kind that we have, was the preservation of the
book of the law in the time of the great apostasy during
the greatest part of the long reign of Manasseh, which
lasted filly-five years, and then after that the reign of
Amon his son. This while the book of the law was so
much neglected, and such a careless and profane man
agement of the affairs of the temple prevailed, that the
book of the law, that used to be laid up by the side of
the ark in the Holy of Holies, was lost for a long time ;
no body knew where it was. But yet God preserved it
from being finally lost. In Josiah's time, when they
came to repair the temple, it was found buried in rub
bish, after it had been lost so long that Josiah himself
seems to have been much a stranger to it until now.-—
See 2 Kings xxii. 8. &c.
XVIII. God's remarkably preserving the tribe of which
Christ was to proceed, from being ruined through the
many and great dangers of this period. The visible
church of Christ from~ Solomon's reign, was mainly in
the tribe of Judah. The tribe of Benjamin, that was an
nexed to them, was but a very small tribe, and the tribe
of Judah exceeding large; and as Judah took Benjamin
under his covert when he went into Egypt to bring corn,
so the tribe of Benjamin seemed to be under the covert
of Judah ever after: and though, on occasion of Jero
boam's setting up the calves at Bethel and Dan, the Le-
vites resorted to Judah out of all the tribes of Israel, (2
Chron. xi. 13.) yet they were also small, and not reck
oned among the tribes: and though many of the ten
tribes did also on that occasion, for the sake of the wor
ship of God in the temple, leave their inheritances in
their several tribes, and removed and settled in Judah,
and so were incorporated with them, as we have an ac
count in the chapter just quoted, and 16th verse ; yet the
tribe of Judah was so much the prevailing part, that they
were called by one name, they were called Judah : there
fore God said to Solomon, 1 Kings xi. 13. "I will not
rend away all the kingdom ; but will give one tribe to
thy son, for David my servant's sake, and for Jerusa
lem's sake, which I have chosen," and so ver. 32. 36. So
when the ten tribes were carried captive, it is said, there
WORK OP REDEMPTION.
was none left but the tribe of Judah only : 2 Kings xvii.
18. "Therefore the Lord was very wroth with Israel,
and removed them out of his sight : there was none left
but the tribe of Judah only." Whence they were all
called Jews, which is a word that comes from Judah.
This was the tribe of which Christ was to come ; and
in this chiefly did God's visible church consist, from So
lomon's time: and this was the people over whom the
kings that were legal ancestors of Christ, and were of
the'house of David, reigned. This people was wonder
fully preserved from destruction during this period ;
when they often seemed to be upon the brink of ruin,
and just ready to be swallowed up. So it was in Reho-
boam's time, when Shishak king of Egypt came against
Judah with such a vast force; yet then God manifestly
preserved them from being destroyed. Of this we read
in the beginning of the 12th chapter of 2 Chronicles. So
it was again in Abijah's time, when Jeroboam set the
battle in array against him with eight hundred thousand
chosen men ; a mighty army indeed. We read of it, 2
Chron. xiii. 3. Then God wrought deliverance to Judah,
out of regard to the covenant of grace established with
David, as is evident by ver. 4. and 5. and the victory
they obtained was because the Lord was on their side,
as you may see, ver. 12. So it was again in Asa's time,
when Zerah the Ethiopian came against him with a yet
larger army of a thousand thousand, and three hundred
chariots, 2 Chron. xiv. 9. On this occasion Asa cried to
the Lord, and trusted in him, being sensible that it was
nothing with him to help those that had no power; ver.
11. "And Asa cried unto the Lord his God, and said,
Lord, it is nothing with thee to help, whether with many,
or with those that have no power." And accord \i\g\y
God gave them a glorious victory over this mighty host.
So again it was in Jehoshaphat's time, when the child
ren of Moab, and the children of Ammon, and the inhab
itants of Mount Seir, combined together against Judah
with a mighty army, a force vastly superior to any that
Jehoshaphat could raise; and Jehoshaphat and his peo
ple were greatly afraid : yet they set themselves to seek
God on this occasion, and trusted in him; and God told
them by one of his prophets, that they need not fear
them, nor should they have any occasion to fight in this
battle, they should only stand still and see the salvation
of the Lord. And according to his direction, they only
stood still, and sang praises to God, and God made their
120 A HISTORY OF THE
enemies do the work themselves, and set them to killing
one another; and the children of Judah had nothing to
do, but to gather the spoil, which was more than they
could carry away. We have the story in 2 C'hron. xx.
So it was again in Ahaz's time, when Rezin the king
of Syria, and Pekah the son of Remaliah, the king of Is
rael, conspired against Juclah, and seemed to be sure of
their purpose; of which we have spoken already, fco it
was again in Hezekiuh's time, when Sennacherib, that
great king of Assyria, and head of the greatest mon
archy that was then in the world, came up against all
the fenced cities of Judah, after he had conquered most
of the neighbouring countries, and sent Rabshakeh. the
captain of his host, against Jerusalem, who came, and in
a very proud and scornful manner insulted Hezekiah
and his people, as being sure of victory; and the people
were trembling for fear, like lambs before a lion. Then
( iod sent Isaiah the prophet to comfort them, and assure
them that they should not prevail; as a token of which
he gave them this sign, viz. that the earth, for two years
successively, should bring forth food of itself, from the
roots of the old stalks, without their ploughing or sow
ing ; and then the third year they should sow and reap,
and plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them, and live
nn the fruits of their labour, as they were wont to do be
fore. ISee 2 Kings xix. 29. This is mentioned as a type
of what is promised in ver. SO, 31. "And the remnant
that is escaped of the house of Judah, shall yet again
take root downward, and bear fruit upward. For out of
Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant, and they that escape,
out of Mount Zion : the zeal of the Lord of hosts shall
do this." The corn's springing again after it had been
cut off with the sickle, and bringing forth another crop
from the roots, that seemed to be dead, and so once and
again, represents the church's reviving again, as it were
out of its own ashes, and flourishing like a plant after it
had seemingly been cut down past recovery. When the
enemies of the church have done their utmost, and seem
to have gained their point, and to have overthrown the
church, so that the being of it is scarcely visible, but like
a living root hid under ground ; yet there is a secret life
in it that will cause it to flourish again, and to take root
downward, and bear fruit upward. This was fulfilled
now at this time: for the king of Assyria had already
taken and carried captive the ten tribes; and Sennach
erib had also taken all the fenced cities of Judah, and
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 121
ranged the country round about, and Jerusalem only re
mained ; and Rabshakeh had in his own imagination al
ready swallowed that up, as he had also in the fearful
apprehensions of the Jews themselves. But yet God
wrought a wonderful deliverance. He sent an angel,
that in one night smote an hundred fourscore and five
thousand in the enemy's camp.
XIX. In the reign of Uzziah, and the following reigns,
God was pleased to raise up a set of eminent prophets,
who should commit their prophecies to writing, a-nd
leave them for the use of his church in all ages. We be
fore observed, how that God began a constant succes
sion of prophets in Israel in Samuel's time, and many of
these prophets wrote by divine inspiration, and so added
to the canon of scripture before Uzziah's time. But
none of them are supposed to have written books of pro
phecies until now. Several of them wrote histories of
the wonderful dispensations of God towards his church.
This we have observed already of Samuel, who is sup
posed to have written Judges and Ruth, and part of the
first of Samuel, if not the book of Joshua. And Nathan
and Gad seem to have written the rest of the two books
of Samuel : and Nathan, with Ahijah and Iddo, wrote
the history of Solomon, which is probably that which
we have in the first book of Kings. The history of Is
rael seems to have been further carried on by Iddo and
Shemaiah : 2 Chron. xii. 15. "Now the acts of Rehobo-
am, first and last, are they not written in the book of
Shemaiah the prophet, and Iddo the seer, concerning
genealogies 1" And after that the history seems to have
been further carried on by the prophet Jehu, the son of
Hanani : 2 Chron. xx. 34. "Now the rest of the acts of
Jehoshaphat, first and last, behold, they are written in
the book of Jehu, the son of Hanani, who is mentioned
in the book of the kings of Israel," as we find him to be,
1 Kings xvi. 1, 7. And then it was further continued by
the Prophet Isaiah : 2 Chron. xxvi. 22. "Now the rest of
the acts of Uzziah, first and last, did Isaiah the prophet
the son of Amoz write." He probably did it as well in
the second book of Kings, as in the book of his prophecy.
And the history was carried on and finished by other
prophets after him.
Thus the prophets, even from Samuel's time, had from
time to time been adding to the canon of scripture by
their historical writings. But now, in the days of Uz
ziah, did God first raise up a set of great prophets, not
122 A HISTORY OF THE
only to write histories, but to write books of theif
prophecies. The first of these is thought to be Hosea
the son of Beeri, and therefore his prophecy, or the
word of the Lord by him, is called the beginning o'
the word of the Lord ; as Hos. i. 2. " The beginning
of the word of the Lord by Hosea ;" that is, the be~-
f inning, or the first part, of the written word of that
ind, viz. that which is written in books of prophecy.
He prophesied in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and
Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam,
the son of Joash, king of Israel. There were many other
witnesses for God raised up about the same time, to
commit their prophecies to writing, Isaiah, and Amos,
and Jonah, and Micah, and Nahum, and probably some
others ; and so from that time forward God seemed to
continue a succession of writing prophets.
This was a great dispensation of Providence, and
a great advance made in the affair of redemption,
which appears, if we consider what was said before, that
the main business of the prophets was to foreshow Christ
and his redemption. They were all forerunners of the
great prophet. The main end why the spirit of prophecy
was given them was, that they might give testimony to
Jesus Christ, the great Redeemer, that was to come ; and
therefore the testimony of Jesus, and the spirit of pro
phecy, are spoken of as the same thing: Rev. xix. 10.
"And I fell at his feet to worship him : and he said unto
me, See thou do it not : I am thy fellow servant, and of
thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship
God : for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy."
And therefore we find, that the great and main thing
that the most of the prophets in their written prophecies
insist upon, is Christ and his redemption, and the glori
ous times of the gospel, which should be in the latter
days, according to their manner of expression. And
though many other things were spoken of in their pro
phecies, yet it seems to be only as introductory to their
prophecy of these great things. Whatever they prophe
sy of, here their prophecies commonly terminate, as you
may see by a careful perusal of their writings.
These prophets were set to writing their prophecies
by the Spirit of Christ that was in them, chiefly for that
end, to foreshow and prepare the way for the coming of
Christ, and the glory that should follow. And in what
an exalted strain do they all speak of those things ! Many
other things they speak of in men's usual language.
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 123
But when they come upon this subject, what a joyful
heavenly sublimity is there in the language they use
about it ! Some of them are very particular and full in
their predictions of these things, and above all the Pro
phet Isaiah, who is therefore deservedly called the evan
gelical prophet. — He seems to teach the glorious doc
trines of the gospel almost as plainly as the apostles did,
who preached after Christ was actually come. The
Apostle Paul therefore takes notice, that the Prophet
Esaias is very bold, Rom. x. 20. i. e. as the meaning of
the word, as used in the New Testament, is, very plain ;
he speaks out very plainly and fully; so being "very
bold" is used, 2 Cor. iii. 12. we use "great plainness of
speech," or " boldness," as it is in the margin.
How plainly and fully does the Prophet Isaiah describe
the manner and circumstances, the nature and end, of
the sufferings and sacrifice of Christ, in the 53d chapter
of his prophecy. There is scarce a chapter in the New
Testament itself which is more full on it ! and how much,
and in what a glorious strain, does the same prophet
speak from time to time of the glorious benefits of Christ,
the unspeakable blessings which shall redound to his
church through his redemption ! Jesus Christ, the person
that this prophet spoke so much of, once appeared to
Isaiah in the form of the human nature, the nature that
he should afterwards take upon him. We have an ac
count of it in the 6th chapter of his prophecy at the be
ginning: "I saw also the Lord sitting on a throne, high
and lifted up, and his train filled the temple," &c. This
was Christ that Isaiah now saw, as we are expressly
told in the New Testament. See John xii. 39, 40, 41.
And if we consider the abundant prophecies of this
and the other prophets, what a great increase is there
of the light of the gospel, which had been growing from
the fall of man to this day ! — How plentiful are the reve
lations and prophecies of Christ now, to what they were
in the first period of the Old Testament, from Adam to
, Noah !— Or to what they were in the second, from Noah
to Abraham ! — Or to what they were before Moses, or
i in the time of Moses, Joshua, and the Judges ! This dis
pensation that we are now speaking of, was also a glo
rious advance of the work of redemption by the great
additions that were made to the canon of scripture.
Great part of the Old Testament was written now, from
the days of Uzziah to the captivity into Babylon. And,
how excellent are those portions of it !— What a pre
124 A HISTORY OF THE
cious treasure have those prophets committed to the
church of God, tending greatly to confirm the gospel of
Christ, and which has been of great comfort arid benefit
to God's church in all ages since, and doubtless will be
to the end of the world.
PART VI.
FROM THE BABYLONISH CAPTIVITY TO THE COMING OF
CHRIST.
I COME now to the last period of the Old Testament, viz.
that which begins with the Babylonish captivity, and
extends to the coming of Christ, being the greatest part
of six hundred years, to shew how the work of redemp
tion was carried on through this period.
But before I enter upon particulars, I would observe
in three things wherein this period is distinguished from
the preceding periods of the times of the Old Testament.
1. Though we have no account of a great part of this
period in the scripture history, yet the events of this pe
riod are more the subject of scripture prophecy, than
any of the preceding periods. There are two ways
wherein the scriptures give account of the events by
which the work of redemption is carried on ; one is by
history, and another is by prophecy: and in one or the
other of these ways we have contained in the scriptures
an account how the work of redemption is carried on
from the beginning to the end. Although the scriptures
do not contain a proper history of the whole, yet there
is contained the whole chain of great events by which
this affair hath been carried on from the foundation,
soon after the fall of man, to the finishing of it at the end
of the world, either in history or prophecy. And it is to
be observed, that where the scripture is wanting in one
of these ways, it is made up in the other. — Where scrip
ture history fails, there prophecy takes place ; so that
»he account is still carried on, and the chain is not bro-
WORK OP REDEMPTION. 125
ken, until we come to the very last link of it in the con
summation of all things.
And accordingly it is observable of this period or space
of time that we are upon, that though it is so much less
the subject of scripture history, than most of the preced
ing periods, so that there is above four hundred years of
it that the scriptures give us no history of; yet the events
of this period are more the subject of scripture prophecy,
than the events of ail the preceding periods put together.
Most of those remarkable prophecies of the book of Dan
iel do refer to events that were accomplished in this pe
riod : so most of those prophecies in Isaiah, and Jere
miah, and Ezekiel, against Babylon, and Tyrus, and
against Egypt, and many other nations, were fulfilled in.
this period.
So that the reason why the scriptures give us no his
tory of so great a part of this period, is not because the
events of this period were not so important, or less wor
thy to be taken notice of, than the events of the foregoing
periods ; for I shall hereafter show how great and dis-
tinguishedly remarkable the events of this period were.
But there are several other reasons which may be given
of it. One is, that it was the will of God that the spirit
of prophecy should cease in this period, (for reasons that
may be given hereafter ;) so that there were no prophets
to write tne history of these times ; and therefore God
designing this, took care that the great events of this pe
riod should not be without mention in his word ; and so
ordered it, that the prophecies of scripture should be
more full here, than in the preceding periods. It is ob
servable, that that set of writing prophets that God raised
up in Israel, were raised up at the latter end of the fore
going period, and at the beginning of this; which it is
likely was partly for that reason, that the time was now
approaching, of which the spirit of prophecy having
ceased, there was to be no scripture history, and there
fore no other scripture account but what was given in
prophecy.
And another reason that may be given why there was
so great a part of this period left without an historical
account in scripture, is, that God in his providence took
care, that there should be authentic and full accounts of
the events of this period preserved in profane history.
It is remarkable, and very worthy to be taken notice of,
that with respect to the events of the five preceding pe
riods, of which the scriptures give the history, profane
126 A HISTORY OF THE
history gives us no account, or at least of but very lew
of them. There are many fabulous and uncertain ac
counts of things that happened before; but the begin
ning of the times of authentic profane history is judged
to be but a little before Nebuchadnezzar's time, about an
hundred years before. The learned men among the
Greeks and Romans .used to call the ages before that the
fabulous age ; but the times after that they called the
historical age. And from about that time to the coming of
Christ, we have undoubted accounts in profane history
of the principal events; accounts that wonderfully agree
with the many prophecies that we have in scripture of
those times.
Thus did the great God, that disposes all things, order
it. He took care to give an historical account of things
from the beginning of the world, through all those form
er ages which profane history does not reach, and ceased
not until he came to those later ages in which profane
history related things with some certainty : and concern
ing those times, he gives us abundant account in proph
ecy, that by comparing profane history with those pro
phecies, we might see the agreement.
2. This period being the last period of the Old Testa
ment, and the next to the coming of Christ, seems to
have been remarkably distinguished from all others in
the great revolutions that were among the nations of the
earth, to make way for the kingdom of Christ. The
time now drawing nigh, wherein Christ, the great King
and Saviour of the world, was to come, great and mighty
were the changes that were brought to pass in order to
it. The way had been preparing for the coming of
Christ from the fall of man, through all the foregoing pe
riods: but now the time drawing nigh, things began to
ripen apace for Christ's coming; and therefore divine
Providence wrought wonderfully now. The greatest
revolutions that any history whatsoever gives an ac
count of, that ever had been from the flood, fell out in
this period. Almost all the then known world, i. e. all
the nations that were round about the land of Canaan,
far and near, that were within the reach of their know
ledge, were overturned again and again. All lands were
in their turns subdued, captivated, and as it were emp
tied, and turned upside down, and that, most of them re
peatedly, in this period ; agreeable to that prophecy, Isa.
xxiv. 1. " Behold, the Lord maketh the earth empty ; he
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 127
maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down, and scat-
tereth abroad the inhabitants thereof."
This emptying, and turning upside down, began with
God's visible church, in their captivity by the'king of
Babylon. And then the cup from them went round to
all other nations, agreeable to what God revealed to the
Prophet Jeremiah, xxv. 15 — 27. Here special respect
seems to be had to the great revolutions that there were
on the face of the earth in the times of the Babylonish em
pire. But after that there were three general overturn-
ings of the world before Christ came, in the succession
of the three great monarchies of the world that were
after the Babylonish empire. The king of Babylon is
represented in scripture as overturning the world : but
after that, the Babylonish empire was overthrown by
Cyrus, who founded the Persian empire in the room of
it; which was of much greater extent than the Babylon
ish empire in its greatest glory. Thus the world was
overturned the second time. And then, after that, the
Persian empire was overthrown by Alexander, and the
Grecian empire was set up upon the ruins of it; which
was still of much greater extent than the Persian em
pire : and thus there was a general overturning of the
world a third time. And then, after that, the Grecian
empire was overthrown by the Romans, and the Ro
man empire was established; which vastly exceeded all
the foregoing empires in power and extent of dominion.
And so the world was overturned the fourth time.
These several monarchies, and the great revolutions
of the world under them, are abundantly spoken of in
the prophecies of Daniel. They are represented in Nebu
chadnezzar's image of gold, silver, brass, and iron, and
Daniel's interpretation of it in the 2d chapter of Daniel;
and then in Daniel's vision of the four beasts, and the
angel's interpretation of it in the 7th chapter of Daniel.
And the succession of the Persian and Grecian monar
chies is more particularly represented in the 8th chapter
in Daniel's vision of the ram and the he-goat, and again
in the llth chapter of Daniel.
And besides these four general overturnings of the
world, the world was kept in a constant tumult between
whiles: and indeed the world was as it were in a con
tinual convulsion through this whole period until Christ
came. Before this period, the face of the earth was
comparatively in quietness: though there were many
great wars among the nations, yet we read of no such
128 A HISTORY OF THE
mighty and universal convulsions and overturnings as
there were in this period. The nations of the world,
most of them, had long remained on their lees as it were,
without being emptied from vessel to vessel, as is said
of Moab, Jer. xlviii. II. Now these great overturnings
were because the time of the great Messiah drew nigh.
That they were to prepare the way for Christ's coming,
is evident by scripture, particularly by Ezek. xxi. 27. "I
will overturn, overturn, overturn it, and it shall be no
more, until he come whose right it is, and I will give it
him." The prophet, by repeating the word overturn
three times, has respect to three overturnings, as in the
Revelation, viii. 13. the repetition of the word wo three
times, signifies three distinct. woes; as appears by what
follows, ix. 12. "One wo is past;" and xi. 14. "The
second wo is past, and behold the third wo cometh
quickly."
It must be noted, that the Prophet Ezekiel prophesied
in the time of the Babylonish captivity; and therefore
there were three great and general overturnings of the
world to come after this prophecy, before Christ came;
the first by the Persians, the second by the Grecians, the
third by the Romans ; and then after that, Christ, whose
right it was to take the diadem, and reign, should come.
Here these great overturnings are evidently spoken of
as preparatory to the coming and kingdom of Christ.
But to understand the words aright, we must note the
particular expression, " I will overturn, overturn, over
turn it," i. e. the diadem and crown of Israel, or the su
preme temporal dominion over God's visible people.
This God said should be no more, i. e. the crown should
be taken off, and the diadem removed, as it is said in the
foregoing verse. The supreme power over Israel should
be no more in the royal line of David, to which it pro
perly belonged, but should be removed away, and given
to others, and overturned from one to another : first the
supreme power over Israel should be in the hands of the
Persians ; and then it should be overturned again ; and
then it should be in the hands of the Grecians ; and then
it should be overturned again, and come into the hands
of the Romans, and should be no more in the line of Da
vid, until that very person should come, that was the
son of David, whose proper right it was, and then God
would give it to him.
That those great shakings and revolutions of the na
tions of the world, were all to prepare the way for Christ's
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 129
coming, and setting up his kingdom in the world, is fur
ther manifest by Haggai ii. 6, 7. "For thus saith the
Lord of hosts, Yet once, it is a little while, and I will
shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the
dry land: and I will shake all nations, and the desire of
all nations shall come, and I will fill this house with glory,
saith the Lord of hosts." And again, verse 21, 22, and
23. It is evident by this, that these great revolutions
and shakings of the nations, whereby the thrones of
kingdoms and armies were overthrown, and every one
came down by the sword of his brother, were to pre
pare the way for the coming of him who is the desire of
all nations.
The great changes and troubles that have sometimes
been in the visible church of Christ, are, in Rev. xii. 2.
compared to the church's being in travail to bring forth
Christ; so these great troubles and mighty revolutions
that were in the world before Christ was born, were, as
it were, the world's being in travail to bring forth the
Son of God. The apostle, in the 8th of Romans, repre
sents the whole creation as groaning and travailing in
pain together until now, to bring forth the liberty and
manifestation of the children of God. So the world as it
were travailed in pain, and was in continual convulsions,
for several hundred years together, to bring forth the
first born child, and the only begotten Son of God. And
those mighty revolutions were as so many pangs and
throes in order to it. The world being so long a time
kept in a state of war and bloodshed, prepared the way
for the coming of the Prince of Peace, as it showed the
great need the world stood in of such a prince, to deliver
the world from its miseries.
It pleased God to order it in his providence, that earth
ly power and dominion should be raised to its greatest
height, and appear in its utmost glory, in those four
great monarchies that succeeded one another, and that
every one should be greater and more glorious than the
preceding, before he set up the kingdom of his Son. By
this it appeared how much more glorious his spiritual
kingdom was than the most glorious temporal kingdom.
The strength and glory of Satan's kingdom in these four
mighty monarchies, appeared in its greatest height : for
those monarchies were the monarchies of the heathen
world, and so the strength of them was the -strength of
Satan's kingdom. God suffered Satan's kingdom to rise
to so great a height of power and magnificence before
130 A HISTORY OF THE
his Son came to overthrow it, to prepare the way for the
more glorious triumph of his Son. Goliath must have
on all his splendid armour when the stripling David
comes against him with a sling and a stone, for the
greater glory of David's victory. God suffered one of
those great monarchies to subdue another, and erect it
self on the other's ruins, appearing still in greater strength,
and the last to be the strongest and mightiest of all ; that
so Christ, in overthrowing that, might as it were over
throw them all at once; as the stone cut out of the
mountain without hands, is represented as destroying
the whole image, the gold, the silver, the brass, the iron
and the clay; so that ^11 became as the chaff of the sum
mer threshing floor.
These mighty empires were suffered thus to overthrow
the world, and destroy one another : and though their
power was so great, yet they could not uphold them
selves, but fell one after another, and came to nothing,
even the last of them, that was the strongest, and had
swallowed up the earth. It pleased God thus to show in
them the instability and vanity of all earthly power and
greatness ; which served as a foil to set forth the glory
of the kingdom of his Son, which never shall be destroy
ed, as appears by Dan. ii. 44. "In the days of these kings
shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall
never be destroj-ed : and the kingdom shall not be left
to other people, but it shall break in pieces, and consume
all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever." So
greatly does this kingdom differ from all those king
doms : they vanish away, and are left to other people ;
but this shall not be left to other people, but shall stand
for ever. God suffered the devil to do his utmost, and
to establish his interest, by setting up the greatest, strong
est, and most glorious kingdoms in the world that he
could, before the despised Jesus overthrew him and his
empire. Christ came into the world to bring down the
high things of Satan's kingdom, that the hand of the
Lord might be on every one that is proud and lofty, and
every high tower, and every lofty mountain ; as the pro
phet Isaiah says, chap. ii. 12. &c. And therefore these
things were suffered to rise very high, that Christ might
appear so much the more glorious in being above them.
Thus wonderfully did the great and wise Governor of
the world prepare the way for the erecting of the glori
ous kingdom of his beloved Son Jesus.
3. Another thing for which this last period or space
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 131
of time before Christ was particularly remarkable, was
the wonderful preservation of the church through all
those overturnings. The preservation of the church
was on some accounts more remarkable through this pe
riod, than through any of the foregoing. It was very
wonderful that the church, which in this period was so
weak, and in so low a state, and mostly subject to the
dominion of heathen monarchies, should be preserved
for five or six hundred years together, while the world
was so often overturned, and the earth was rent in
pieces, and made so often empty and waste, and the in
habitants of it came down so often every one by the
sword of his brother. I say it was wonderful that the
church in its weak and low state, being but a little hand
ful of rnen, should be preserved in all these great convul
sions ; especially considering that the land of Judea, the
chief place of the church's residence, lay in the midst of
them, as it were in the middle between the contending
parties, and was very much the seat of war amongst
them, and was often overrun and subdued, and some
times in the hands of one people, and sometimes another,
and very much the object of the envy and hatred of all
heathen nations, and often almost ruined by them, often
great multidues of its inhabitants being slain, and the
land in a great measure depopulated; and those who
had them in their power, often intended the utter de
struction of the whole nation. Yet they were upheld ;
they were preserved in their captivity in Babylon, and
they were upheld again under all the dangers they pass
ed through, under the kings of Persia, and the much
greater dangers they were liable to under the empire of
the Greeks, and afterwards when the world was trodden
down by the Romans.
And their preservation through this period was also
distinguishingly remarkable, in that we never read of
the church's suffering persecution in any former period
in any measure to such a degree as they did in this, un
der Antiochus Epiphanes, of which more afterwards.
This wonderful preservation of the church through all
these overturnings of the world, gives light and confir
mation to what we read in the beginning of the 46th
Psalm: "God is our refuge and strength, a very present
help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the
earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried
into the midst of the sea; though the waters thereof roar,
132 A HISTORY OF THE
and be troubled; though the mountains shake with the
swelling thereof."
Thus I have taken notice of some general things
wherein this last period of the Old Testament times was
distinguished. I come now to consider how the work
of redemption was carried on in particulars. — And,
I. The first tiling that here offers is the captivity of
the Jews into Babylon. This was a great dispensation
of Providence, and such as never was beibre. The
children of Israel in the time of the judges, had often
been brought under their enemies ; and many particular
persons were carried captive at other times. But never
had there been any such thing as destroying the whole
land, the sanctuary, and the city of Jerusalem, and all
the cities and villages of the land, and carrying the
whole body of the people out of their own land into a
country many hundred miles distant, and leaving the
land of Canaan empty of God's visible people. The ark
had once forsaken the tabernacle of Shiloh, and was car
ried captive into the land of the Philistines: but never
had there been any such thing as the burning the sanc
tuary, and utterly destroying the ark, and carrying
away all the sacred vessels and utensils, and breaking
up all their stated worship in the land, and the land's
lying waste and empty for so many years together.
How lively are those things set forth in the Lamenta
tions of Jeremiah !
The work of redemption was promoted by this re
markable dispensation in these following ways.
1. It finally cured that nation of their itch after idol
atry. The Prophet Isaiah, speaking of the setting up of
the kingdom of Christ, chap. ii. 18. speaks of the abolish
ing idolatry as one thing that should be done to this end :
" and the idols he shall utterly abolish." When the time
was drawing near, that God would abolish heathen idol
atry, through the greater part of the known world, as he
did by the preaching of the gospel after Christ came, it
pleased him first to abolish heathenism among his own
people ; and he did it now by their captivity into Baby
lon ; a presage of that abolishing of idols, that God was
about to bring to pass by Christ through so great a part
of the heathen world.
This nation that was addicted to idolatry before for so
many ages, and that nothing would cure them of; not all
the reproofs, and warnings, and corrections, that they
had, and all the judgments God inflicted on them for it ;
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 133
yet now were finally cured: so that however some
might fall into this sin afterwards, as they, did about the
time of Antiochus's persecution, yet the nation, as a na
tion, never shewed any hankering after this sin any
more. This was a remarkable and wonderful change in
that people, and what directly promoted the work of re
demption, as it was a great advancement of the interest
of religion.
2. It was one thing that prepared the way for Christ's
coming, and setting up the glorious dispensation of the
gospel, as it took away many of those things wherein
consisted the glory of the Jewish dispensation. In order
to introduce the glorious dispensation of the gospel, the
external glory of the Jewish church must be diminished,
as we observed before. This the Babylonish captivity
did many ways ; it brought the people very low.
First, it removed the temporal diadem of the house of
David away from them, i. e. the supreme and indepen
dent government of themselves. It took away the crown
and diadem from the nation. The time now approach
ing when Christ, the great and everlasting* king of his
church, was to reign, it was time for the typical kings to
withdraw. As God said by Ezekiel, chap. xxi. 26. " He
removed the crown and diadem, that it might be no
more, until he should come, whose right it was." The
Jews henceforward were always dependent on the gov
erning power of other nations, until Christ came, for
near six hundred years, excepting about ninety years,
during which space they maintained a sort of indepen
dence, by continual wars under the dominion of the
Maccabees and their posterity.
Again, by the captivity, the glory and magnificence
of the temple was taken away, and the temple that was
built afterwards, was nothing in comparison with it.
Thus it was meet, that when the time drew nigh that the
glorious antitype of the temple should appear, the typi
cal temple should have its glory withdrawn.
Again, another thing that they lost by the captivity,
was the two tables of the testimony delivered to Moses,
written with the finger of God; the two tables on which
God with his own finger wrote the ten commandments
on Mount Sinai. These seem to have been preserved
in the ark until the captivity. These were in the ark
when Solomon placed the ark in the temple, 1 Kings viii.
9. There was nothing in the ark, save the two tables
of stone, which Moses put there at Horeb. And we have
13
134 A HISTORY OF THE
no reason to suppose any other, but that they remained
there as long as that temple stood. But the Jews speak
of these as finally lost at that time; though the same
commandments were preserved in the book of the law.
These tables also were withdrawn on the approach of
their antitype.
Again, another thing that was lost that the Jews had
before, was the Urim and Thummim. This is evident
by Ezra ii. 63. " And the Tirshatha said unto them, that
they should not eat of the most holy things, until there
should stand up a priest with Urim and Thummim."
And we have no account that this was ever restored ;
but the ancient writings of the Jews say the contrary.
What this Urim and Thummim was, I shall not now in
quire; but only observe, that it was something by which
the high priest inquired of God, and received immediate
answers from him, or by which God gave forth immedi
ate oracles on particular occasions. This was now with
drawn, the time approaching when Christ, the antitype
of the Urim and Thummim, the great word and oracle
of God, was to come.
Another thing that the ancient Jews say was wanting
in the second temple, was the Shechinah, or cloud of
glory over the mercy seat. This was promised to be in
the tabernacle: Lev. xvi. 2. "For I will appear in the
cloud upon the mercy seat." And we read elsewhere
of the cloud of glory descending into the tabernacle,
Exod. xl. 35. and so we do likewise with respect to So
lomon's temple. But we have no account that this cloud
of glory was in the second temple. And the ancient ac
counts of the Jews say, that there was no such thing in
the second temple. This was needless in the second
temple, considering that God had promised that he would
fill this temple with glory another way, viz. by Christ's
coming into it ; which was afterwards fulfilled. See Hag-
gai ii. 7. "I will shake all nations, and the desire of all
nations shall come, and I will fill this house with glory,
saith the Lord of hosts."
Another thing, that the Jews, in their ancient writings
mention as being now withdrawn, was the fire from
heaven on the altar. When Moses built the tabernacle
and altar in the wilderness, and the first sacrifices were
offered on it, fire came down from heaven, and consum
ed the burnt offering, as in Lev. ix. 24. and so again,
when Solomon built the temple, and offered the first sa
crifices, as you may see in 2 Chron. vii. 1. And this fire
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 135
was never to go out, but with the greatest care to be
kept alive, as God commanded, Lev. vi. 13. "The fire
shall ever be burning upon the altar: it shall never go
out." And there is no reason to suppose the fire in So
lomon's time ever went out until the temple was destroy
ed by the Babylonians. But then it was extinguished,
and never was restored. We have no account of its be
ing given on the building of the second temple, as we
have at the building of the tabernacle and first temple
But the Jews, after their return, were forced to make us*
of their common fire instead of it, according to the an
cient tradition of the Jews. Thus the lights of the Ola
Testament go out on the approach of the glorious Sun
of righteousness.
3. The captivity into Babylon was the occasion of an
other thing which did afterwards much promote the set
ting up of Christ's kingdom in the world, and that was
the dispersion of the Jews through the greater part of
the known world, before the coming of Christ. For the
whole nation being carried away far out of their own
land, and continuing in a state of captivity for so long a
time, they got them possessions, and built them houses,
and settled themselves in the land of their captivity,
agreeable to the direction that Jeremiah gave them, in
the letter he wrote to them in the 29th chapter of Jere
miah. And therefore, when Cyrus gave them liberty to
return to the land where they had formerly dwelt, many
of them never returned; they were not willing to leave
their settlements and possessions there, to go into a de
solate country, many hundred miles distant, which none
but the old men among them had ever seen ; and there
fore they were but few, but a small number, that return
ed, as we see in the accounts we have in the books of
Ezra and Nehemiah. Great numbers tarried behind,
though they still retained the same religion with those
that returned, so far as it could be practised in a foreign
land. Those messengers that we read of in the 7th
chapter of Zechariah, that came to inquire of the priests
and prophets in Jerusalem, Sherezer and Regemmelech,
are supposed to be messengers sent from the Jews that
remained still in Babylon.
Those Jews that remained still in that country were
soon, by the great changes that happened in the'world,
dispersed thence into all the adjacent countries. And
hence we find, that in Esther's time, which was after
the return from the captivity, the Jews were a people
136 A HISTORY OF THE
that were dispersed throughout all parts of the vast Per
sian empire, that extended from India to Ethiopia; as
3'ou may see, Esth. iii. 8. "And Haman said unto King
Ahasuerus, There is a certain people scattered abroad,
and dispersed among the people in all the provinces of
thy kingdom," &c. And so they continued dispersed
until Christ came, and until the apostles went forth to
preach the gospel. But yet these dispersed Jews retain
ed their religion in this dispersion. Their captivity, as I
said before, thoroughly cured them of their idolatry ; and
it was their manner, for as many of them as could from
time to time, to go up to the land of Judea to Jerusalem
at their great feasts. Hence we read in the 2d chapter
of Acts, that at the time of the great feast of Pentecost,
there were Jews abiding at Jerusalem out of every na
tion under heaven. — These were Jews come up from all
countries where they were dispersed, to worship at that
feast. And hence we find, in the history of the Acts of
the Apostles, that wherever the apostles went preaching
through the world, they found Jews. They came to
such a city, and to such a city, and went into the syna
gogue of the Jews.
Antiochus the Great, about two hundred years before
Christ, on a certain occasion, transplanted two thousand
families of Jews from the country about Babylon into
Asia the Less ; and so they and their posterity, many of
them, settled in Pontus, Galatia, Phrygia, Pamphylia, and
in Ephesus; and from thence settled in Athens, and
Corinth, and Rome. Whence came those synagogues
in those places that the Apostle Paul preached in.
Now, this dispersion of the Jews through the world
before Christ came, did many ways prepare the way for
his coming, and setting up his kingdom in the world.
One was, that this was a means of raising a general
expectation of the Messiah through the world about the
time that he actually came. For the Jews, wherever
they were dispersed, carried the holy scriptures with
them, and so the prophecies of the Messiah ; and being
conversant with the nations among whom they lived,
they, by that means, became acquainted with these pro
phecies, and with the expectations of the Jews of their
glorious Messiah ; and by this means, the birth of such
a glorious person in Judea about that time began to be
the general expectation of the nations of the world, as
appears by the writings of the learned men of the hea
then that lived about that time, which are still extant ;
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 137
particularly Virgil, the famous poet that lived in Italy a
little before Christ was born, has a poem about the ex
pectation of a great prince that was to be born, and the
happy times of righteousness and peace that he was to
introduce ; some of it very much in the language of the
prophet Isaiah.
Another way that this dispersed state of the Jews pre
pared the way for Christ was, that it showed the neces
sity of abolishing the Jewish dispensation, and introduc
ing a new dispensation of the covenant of grace. It
showed the necessity of abolishing the ceremonial law,
and the old Jewish worship : for, by this means, the ob
servance of that ceremonial law became impracticable
even by the Jews themselves: for the ceremonial law
was adapted to the state of a people dwelling together
in the same land, where was the city that God had
chosen ; where was the temple, the only place where
they might offer sacrifices ; and where it was lawful for
their priests and Levites to officiate, where they were to
bring their first fruits, and where were their cities of re
fuge and the like. But the Jews, by this dispersion, lived,
many of them, in other lands, more than a thousand
miles distant, when Christ came; which made the obser
vance of their laws of sacrifices, and the like, impracti
cable. And though their forefathers might be to blame
in not going up to the land of Judea when they were
permitted by Cyrus, yet the case was now, as to many
of them at least, become impracticable ; which showed
the necessity of introducing a new dispensation, that
should be fitted, not only to one particular land, but to
the general circumstances and use of all nations of the
world.
Again, another way that this dispersion of the Jews
through the world prepared the way for the setting up
of the kingdom of Christ in the world, was, that it con
tributed to the making the facts concerning Jesus Christ
publicly known through the world. For, as I observed
before, the Jews that lived in other countries, used fre
quently to go up to Jerusalem at their three great feasts,
which were from year to year; and so, by this means,
they could not but become acquainted with the news of
the wonderful things that Christ did in that land. We
find that they were present at, and took great notice of,
that great miracle of raising Lazarus, which excited the
curiosity of those foreign Jews that came up to the feast
of the Passover to see Jesus ; as you may see in John
12*
138 A HISTORY OF THE
xii. 19,20, 21. These Greeks were foreign Jews and
proselytes, as is evident by their coming to worship at
the feast of the Passover. The Jews that lived abroad
among the Greeks, and spoke their language, were call
ed Greeks, or Hellenists : so they are called Grecians,
Acts vi. 1. These Grecians here spoken of were not
Gentile Christians ; for this was before the calling of the
Gentiles.
By the same means, the Jews that went up from other
countries became acquainted with Christ's crucifixion.
Thus the disciples, going to Emmaus, say to Christ,
when they did not know him, Luke xxiv. 18. "Art thou
only a stranger in Jerusalem, and hast not known the
things which have come to pass there in these days]"
plainly intimating, that the things concerning Jesus were
so publicly known to all men, that it was wonderful to
find any man unacquainted with them. And so after
wards they became acquainted with the news of his re
surrection ; and when they went home again into their
own countries, they carried the news with them, and so
made these facts public through the world, as they had
made the prophecies of them public before.
After this, those foreign Jews that came, to Jerusalem,
took great notice of the pouring out of the Spirit at Pen
tecost, and the wonderful effects of it ; and many of them
were converted by it, viz. Parthians, Medes, Elamites,
and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Egypt, and the
parts of Libya about Cyrene, and the strangers of Rome,
Jews and proselytes, Cretes and Arabians. And so
they did not only carry back the news of the facts of
Christianity, but Christianity itself, into their own coun
tries with them ; which contributed much to the spread
ing of it through the world.
Again, another way that the dispersion of the Jews
contributed to the setting up of the gospel kingdom in the
world was, that it opened a door for the introduction of the
apostles in all places where they came to preach the gos
pel. For almost in all places where they came to preach
the gospel, they found Jews and synagogues of the Jews,
where the holy scriptures were wont to be read, and
the true God worshipped ; which was a great advantage
to the apostles in their spreading the gospel through the
world. For their way was, into whatever city they
came, first to go into the synagogue of the Jews, (they
being people of the same nation,) and there to preach
the gospel unto them. And hereby their coming, and
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 139
their new doctrine, was taken notice of by their Gentile
neighbours, whose curiosity excited them to hear what
they had to say ; which became a fair occasion to the
apostles to preach the gospel to them. It appears that it
was thus, by the account we have of things in the Acts
of the Apostles. And these Gentiles having been before,
many of them, prepared in some measure, by the know
ledge they had of the Jews' religion, and of their wor
ship of one God, and of their prophecies, and expecta
tion of a Messiah ; which knowledge they derived from
the Jews, who had long been their neighbours; this
opened the door for the gospel to have access to them.
And the work of the apostles with them was doubtless
much easier than if they never had heard any thing be
fore of any expectation of such a person as the apostles
preached, or any thing about the worship of one only
true God.
So many ways did the Babylonish captivity greatly
prepare the way for Christ's coming.
II. The next particular that I would take notice of is,
the addition made to the canon of scripture in the time
of the captivity, in those two remarkable portions of
scripture, the prophecies of Ezekiel and Daniel. Christ
appeared to each of these prophets in the form of that
nature which he was afterwards to take upon him. The
prophet Ezekiel gives an account of his thus appearing
to him repeatedly, as Ezek. i. 26. " And above the firma
ment that was over their heads, was the likeness of a
throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone, and up
on the likeness of the throne was the likeness as the ap
pearance of a man above upon it;" and so chap. viii. 1,
2. So Christ appeared to the prophet Daniel: Dan. viii.
15, 16. "There stood before me as the appearance of a
man. And I heard a man's voice between the banks of
Ulai, which called, and said, Gabriel, make this man to
understand the vision." There are several things that
make it evident, that this was Christ, that I cannot now
stand to mention particularly. So Christ appeared
again as a man to this prophet, chap. x. 5, 6. " Then I
lift up mine eyes and looked, and behold, a certain man
clothed in linen, whose loins were girded with fine gold
of Uphaz : his body also was like the beryl, and his face
as the appearance of lightning, and his eyes as lamps of
fire, and his arms and his feet like in colour to polished
brass, and the voice of his words like the voice of a mul
titude." Comparing this vision with that of the Apostle
140 A HISTORY OF THE
John in the 1st chapter of Revelation, makes it manifest
that it was Christ. And the prophet Daniel, in the histori
cal part of his book, gives an account of a very remark
able appearance of Christ in Nebuchadnezzar's furnace,
with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. We have the
account of it in the 3d chapter. In the 25th verse, Christ is
said to be like the Son of God ; and it is manifest that he ap
peared in the form of man: "lo, I see four men loose, and
the form of the fourth is like the Son of God."
Christ did not only here appear in the form of the
human nature, but he appeared in a furnace, saving
those persons who believed on him from that furnace ;
by which is represented to us, how Christ, by coming
himself into the furnace of God's wrath, saves those that
believe in him from that furnace, so that it has no pow
er on them ; and the wrath of God never reaches or
touches them, so much as to singe the hair of their head.
These two prophets, in many respects, were more par
ticular concerning the coming of Christ, and his glorious
gospel kingdom, than any oflthe prophets had been be
fore. They both of them mention those three great
overturnings of the world that should be before he came.
Ezekiel is particular in several places concerning the
coming of Christ. The prophet Daniel is more particu
lar in foretelling the time of the coming of Christ than
ever any prophet had been before, in the 9th chapter of
his prophecy ; who foretold, that it should be seventy
weeks, i. e. seventy weeks of years, or seventy times
seven years, or four hundred and ninety years, from the
decree to rebuild and restore the state of the Jews, until
the Messiah should be crucified ; which must be reckon
ed from the commission given to Ezra by Artaxerxes,
that we have an account of in the 7th chapter of Ezra ;
whereby the very particular time of Christ's crucifixion
was pointed out, which never had been before.
The prophet Ezekiel is very particular in the mystical
description of the gospel church, in his account of his
vision of the temple and city, in the latter part of his
prophecy. The Prophet Daniel points out the order of
particular events that should come to pass relating to
the Christian church after Christ was come, as the rise
of Antichrist, and the continuance of his reign, and his
fall, and the glory that should follow.
Thus does gospel light still increase, the nearer we
come to the time of Christ's birth.
HI. The next particular I would mention is, the de-
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 141
struction of Babylon, and the overthrow of the Chaldean
empire by Cyrus. The destruction of Babylon was in
that night in which Belshazzar the king, and the city in
general, was drowned in a drunken festival, which they
kept to their gods, when Daniel was called to read the
hand writing on the wall, Dan. v. 30. and it was brought
about in such a manner, as wonderfully to show the
hand of God, and remarkably to fulfil his word by his
prophets, which I cannot now stand particularly to re
late. Now that great city, which had long been an
enemy to the city of God, his Jerusalem, was destroyed,
after it had stood ever since the first building of Babel,
which was about seventeen hundred years. If the check
that was put to the building this city at its beginning,
whereby they were prevented from carrying of it to that
extent and magnificence that they intended ; I say, if
this promoted the work of redemption, as I have before
shown it did, much more did this destruction of it.
It was a remarkable instance of God's vengeance on
the enemies of his redeemed church ; for God brought
this destruction on Babylon for the injuries they did to
God's children, as is often set forth in the prophets. It
also promoted the work of redemption, as thereby God's
people, that were held captive by them, were set at lib
erty to return to their own land to rebuild Jerusalem ;
and therefore Cyrus, who did it, is called God's shepherd
therein, Isa. xliv. latter end; and xlv. 1. And these are
over and above those ways wherein the setting up and
overthrowing the four monarchies of the world did pro
mote the work of redemption, which have been before
observed.
IV. What next followed this was, the return of the
Jews to their own land, and rebuilding Jerusalem and
the temple. Cyrus, as soon as he had destroyed the Ba
bylonish empire, and had erected the Persian empire on
its ruins, made a decree in favour of the Jews, that they
might return to their own land, and rebuild their city
and temple. This return of the Jews out of the Baby
lonish captivity is, next to the redemption out of Egypt,
the most remarkable of all the Old Testament redemp
tions, and most insisted on in scripture, as a type of the
great redemption of Jesus Christ. It was under the
hand of one of the legal ancestors of Christ, viz. Xeruo-
babel, the son of Shealtiel, whose Babylonish name was
Sheshbazzar. He was the governor of the Jews, and
their leader in their first return out of captivity ; and,
142 A HISTORY OF THE
together with Joshua the son of Jozedek the high priest,
had the chief hand in rebuilding the temple. This re
demption was brought about by the hand of Zerubbabel
and Joshua the priest, as the redemption out of Egypt
was brought about by the hand of Moses and Aaron.
The return out of the captivity was a remarkable dis
pensation of Providence. It was remarkable, that the
heart of a heathen prince, as Cyrus was, should be so in
clined to favour such a design as he did, not only in giv
ing the people liberty to return, and rebuild the city and
temple, but in giving charge that they should be helped
with silver and gold, and with goods, and with beasts,
as we read in Ezra i. 4. And afterwards God wonder
fully inclined the heart of Darius to further the building
of the house of God with his own tribute money, and by
commanding their bitter enemies, the Samaritans, who
had been striving to hinder them, to help them without
fail, by furnishing them with all that they needed in or
der to it, and to supply them day by day ; making a de
cree, that whosoever failed of it, timber should be pulled
down out of his house, and he hanged thereon, and his
house made a dunghill; as we have an account in the
6th chapter of Ezra. And after this God inclined the
heart of Artaxerxes, another king of Persia, to promote
the work of preserving the state of the Jews, by his
ample commission to Ezra, which we have an account
of in the 7th chapter of Ezra; helping them abundantly
with silver and gold of his own bounty, and offering
more, as should be needful, out of the King's treasure
house, and commanding his treasurers beyond the river
Euphrates to give more, as should be needed, unto an
hundred talents of silver, and an hundred measures of
wheat, an hundred baths of wine, and an hundred baths
of oil, and salt without prescribing how much ; and giv
ing leave to establish magistrates in the land ; and free
ing the priests of toll, tribute, and custom, and other
things, which render this decree and commission by Ar
taxerxes the most full and ample in the Jews' favour of
any that, at any time, had been given for the restoring
of Jerusalem: and therefore, in Daniel's prophecy, this is
called the decree for restoring and building Jerusalem ;
and hence the seventy weeks are dated.
And then, after this, another favourable commission
was granted by the king of Persia to Nehemiah, which
we have an account of in the 2d chapter of Nehemiah.
It was remarkable, that the hearts of heathen princes
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 143
should be so inclined. It was the effect of his power,
who hath the hearts of kings in his hands, and turn^tn
them whithersoever he will ; and it was a remarkable
instance of his favour to his people.
Another remarkable circumstance of this restitution
of the state of the Jews to their own land was, thaf it
was accomplished against so much opposition of their
bitter and indefatigable enemies the Samaritans, who,
for a Jong time together, with all the malice and craft
tl^ey could exercise, opposed the Jews in this affair, and
sought their destruction ; one while by Bishlam, Mithri-
dath, Tabeel, Rehum, and Shimshai, as in Ezra iv. and
then by Tatnai, Shetharboznai, and their companions,
as in chap. v. and afterwards by Sanballat and Tobiah,
as we read in the book of Nehemiah.
We have shewed before how the settlement of the peo
ple in this land in Joshua's time promoted the work of
redemption. On the same accounts does their restitu
tion belong to the same work. The resettlement of the
Jews in the land of Canaan belongs to this work, as it
was a necessary means of preserving the Jewish church
and dispensation in being, until Christ should come. If
it had not been for this restoration of the Jewish church,
and temple, and worship, the people had remained with
out any temple, and land of their own, that should be as
it were their head quarters, a place of worship, habita
tion, and resort ; the whole constitution, which God had
done so much to establish, would have been in danger
of utterly failing, long before that six hundred had been
out, which was from about the time of the captivity un
til Christ. And so all that preparation which God had
been making for the coming of Christ, from the time of
Abraham, would have been in vain. Now that very
temple was built that God would fill with glory by
Christ's coming into it, as the Prophets Haggai and
Zechariah told the Jews, to encourage them in build
ing it.
V. The next particular I would observe, is the addi
tion made to the canon of the scriptures soon after the
captivity by the Prophets Haggai and Zechariah, who
were prophets sent to encourage the people in their work
of rebuilding the city and temple; and the main argu
ment they make use of to that end. is the approach of
the time of the coming of Christ. Haggai foretold that
Christ should be of Zerubbabel's legal posterity, last
chapter last verse. This seems to be the last and most
144 A HISTORY OF THE
particular revelation of the descent of Christ, until the
angel Gabriel was sent to reveal it to his mother Mary.
The next thing I would take notice of, was the
pouring out of the Spirit of God that accompanied the
ministry of Ezra the priest after the captivity. — That
there was such a pouring out of the Spirit of God that
accompanied Ezra's ministry, is manifest by many things
in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah. Presently after
Ezra came up from Babylon, with the ample commis
sion which Artaxerxes gave him, whence Daniel's se
venty weeks began, he set himself to reform the vices
and corruptions he found among the Jews; and his
great success in it we have an account of in the 10th
chapter of Ezra ; so that there appeared a very general
and great mourning of the congregation of Israel for
their sins, which was accompanied with a solemn cove
nant that the people entered into with God ; and this
was followed with a great and general reformation, as
we have there an account. And the people about the
same time, with great zeal, and earnestness, and rever
ence, gathered themselves together to hear the word of
God read by Ezra; and gave diligent attention, while
Ezra and the other priests preached to them, by reading
and expounding the law, and were greatly affected in
the hearing of it. They wept when they heard the
words of the law, and set themselves to observe the law,
and kept the feast of tabernacles, as the scripture ob
serves, after such a manner as it had not been kept since
the days of Joshua the son of Nun ; as we have an ac
count in the 8th chapter of Nehemiah : and after this,
having separated themselves from all strangers, they
solemnly observed a fast, by hearing the word of God,
confessing their sins, and renewing their covenant with
God ; and manifested their sincerity in that transaction,
by actually reforming many abuses in religion and
morals ; as we learn from the 9th and following chapters
of Nehemiah.
It is observable, that it has been God's manner in
every remarkable new establishment of the state of his
visible church, to give a remarkable outpouring of his
Spirit. So it was on the first establishment of the church
of the Jews at their first coming into Canaan under
Joshua, as has been observed ; and so it was now in this
second settlement of the church in the same land in the
time of Ezra; and so it was on the first establishment of
f he Christian church after Christ's resurrection ; God wise-
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 145
ly and graciously laying the foundation of those establish
ments in a work of his Holy Spirit, for the lasting benefit
of the state of his church, thenceforward continued in those
establishments. And this pouring out of the Spirit of God,
was a final cure of that nation of that particular sin which
just before they especially run into, viz. intermarrying
with the Gentiles: for however inclined to it they were
before, they ever after shewed an aversion to it.
VIL Ezra added to the canon of the scriptures. — He
wrote the book of Ezra ; and he is supposed to have
written the two books of Chronicles, at least to have com
piled them, if he was not the author of the materials, or
all the parts of these writings. That these books were
written, or compiled and completed, after the captivity,
the things contained in the books themselves make man
ifest ; for the genealogies contained therein, are brought
down below the captivity; as 1 Chron. iii. 17. &c. We
have there an account of the posterity of Jehoiachin for
several successive generations. And there is mention
in these books of this captivity into Babylon, as of a thing
past, and of things that were done on the return of the
Jews after the captivity ; as you may see in the 9th chap
ter of 1 Chron. The chapter is mostly filled up with an
account of things that came to pass after the captivity
into Babylon, as you may see by comparing it with what
is said in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah. And that
Ezra was the person that compiled these books, is prob
able by this, because they conclude with words that we
know are the words of Ezra's history. The two last
verses are Ezra's words in the history he gives in the
two first verses of the book of Ezra.
VIII. Ezra is supposed to have collected all the books
of which the holy scriptures did then consist, and dis
posed them in their proper order. Ezra is often spoken
of as a noted and eminent scribe of the law of God, and
the canon of scripture in his time was manifestly under
his special care ; and the Jews, from the first accounts
we have from them, have always held, that the canon of
scripture, so much of it as was then extant, was collect
ed, and orderly disposed and settled by Ezra ; and that
from him they have delivered it down in the order in
which he disposed it, until Christ's time; when the
Christian church received it from them, and have deliv
ered it down to our times. And the truth of this is al
lowed as undoubted by divines in general.
IX. The work of redemption was carried on and pro*
13
146 A HISTORY OF THE
nioted in this period, by greatly multiplying the copies
of the law, and appointing the constant public reading
of them in all the cities of Israel in their synagogues. It
is evident, that before the captivity, there were but few-
copies of the Jaw. There was the original, laid up be
side the ark ; and the kings were required to write out
a copy of the law for their use, and the law was required
to be read to the whole congregation oflsrael once every
seventh year. And we have no account of any other
stated public reading of the law before the captivity but
this. And it is manifest by several things that might be
mentioned, that copies of the law were exceeding rare
before the captivity. But after the captivity, the con
stant reading of the law was set up in every synagogue
throughout the land. First, they began with reading
the law, and then they proceeded to establish the con
stant reading of the other books of the Old Testament.
— And lessons were read out of the Old Testament, as
made up of both the law and the other parts of the scrip
ture then extant, in all the synagogues which were set
up in every city, and every where, wherever the Jews
in any considerable number dwelt, as our meeting
houses are. Thus we find it was in Christ's and the
apostles' time, Acts xv. 21. "Moses of old time hath in
every city them that preach him, being read in the syn
agogues every Sabbath day." — This custom is univer
sally supposed, both by Jews and Christians, to be be
gun by Ezra. There were doubtless public assemblies
before the captivity into Babylon. They used to as
semble at the temple at their great feasts, and were di
rected, when they were at a loss about any thing in the
law, to go to the priest for instruction : and they used
also to resort to the prophets' houses: and we read of
synagogues in the land before, Ps. Ixxiv. 8. But it is
not supposed that they had copies of the law for constant
public reading and expounding through the land before,
as afterwards. This was one great means of their being
preserved from idolatry.
X. The next thing I would mention, is God's remark
ably preserving the church and nation of the Jews, when
they were in imminent danger of being universally de
stroyed by Haman. We have the story in the book of
Esther, with which you are acquainted. The series of
providences was very wonderful in preventing this de
struction. Esther was doubtless born for this end to be
the instrument of this remarkable preservation.
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 147
XL After this the canon of scripture was further added
to in the books of Nehemiah and Esther; the one by Nehe-
miah himself; and whether the other was written by Ne
hemiah or Mordecai, or Malachi, is not of importance for
us to know, so long as it is one of those books that were
always admitted and received as a part of their canon by
the Jews, and was among those books that the Jews
called their scriptures in Christ's time, and as such was
approved by him. For Christ does often in his speeches
to the Jews, manifestly approve and confirm those books,
which amongst them went by the name of the scriptures,
as might be easily shown, if there were time for it.
XII. After this the canon of the Old Testament was
completed and sealed by Malachi. The manner of his
concluding his prophecy seems to imply, that they were
to expect no more prophecies, and no more written re
velations from God, until Christ should come. For in
the last chapter he prophesies of Christ's coming; ver. 2,
3. *« But unto you that fear my name, shall the Sun of
Righteousness arise with healing in his wings ; and ye
shall go forth and grow up as calves of the stall. And
ye shall tread down the wicked ; for they shall be as
ashes under the soles of your feet, in the day that I shall
do this, saith the Lord of hosts." Then we read in ver.
4. " Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which
I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the
statutes and judgments," i. e. Remember and improve
what ye have ; keep close to that written rule you have,
as expecting no more additions to it, until the night of
the Old Testament is over, and the Sun of Righteous
ness shall at length arise.
XIII. Soon after this, the spirit of prophecy ceased
among that people until the time of the New Testament.
Thus the Old Testament light, the stars of the long night,
began apace to hide their heads, the time of the Sun of
Righteousness now drawing nigh. We before observed,
how the kings of the house of David ceased before the
true King and Head of the church came ; and how the
cloud of glory withdrew, before Christ, the brightness of
the Father's glory, appeared ; and so as to several other
things. And now at last the spirit of prophecy ceased.
The time of the great Prophet of God was now so nigh,
it was time for the typical prophets to be silent, and shut
their mouths.
We have now gone through with the time that we
have any historical account of in the writings of the Old
148 A HISTORY OF THE
Testament, and the last thing that was mentioned, by
which the work of redemption was promoted, was the
ceasing of the spirit of prophecy.
I now proceed to show how the work of redemption
was carried on through the remaining times that were be
fore Christ : in which we have not thdt thread of scrip
ture history to guide us that we have had hitherto ; but
have these three things to guide us, viz. the prophecies
of the Old Testament, human histories of those times,
and some occasional mention made, and some evidence
given, of some things which happened in those times, in
the New Testament. Therefore,
XIV. The next particular that I shall mention under
this period, is the destruction of the Persian empire, and
setting up of the Grecian empire by Alexander. This
came to pass about sixty or seventy years after the times
wherein the Prophet Malachi is supposed to have pro
phesied, and about three hundred and thirty years be
fore Christ. This was the third overturning of the world
that came to pass in this period, and was greater and
more remarkable than either of the foregoing. It was
very remarkable on account of the suddenness of that
conquest of the world which Alexander made, and the
greatness of the empire which he set up, which much ex
ceeded all the foregoing in its extent.
This event is much spoken of in the prophecies of
Daniel. This empire is represented by the third king
dom of brass in Daniel's interpretation of Nebuchadnez
zar's dream, as in Dan. ii. and in Daniel's vision of the
four beasts, is represented by the third beast that was
like a leopard, that had on his back four wings of a fowl,
to represent the swiftness of its conquest, chap. vii. and
is more particularly represented by the he-goat in the
8th chapter, that came from the west on the face of the
whole earth, and touched not the ground, to represent
how swiftly Alexander overran the world. The angel
himself does expressly interpret this he-goat to signify
the king of Grecia, ver. 21. The rough goat is the'king
of Grecia; and the great horn that is between his eyes
is the first king, i. e. Alexander himself.
After Alexander had conquered the world, he soon
died ; and his dominion did not descend to his posterity,
but four of his principal captains divided his empire be
tween them, as it there follows. Now that being bro
ken, whereas four stood up for it, four kingdoms shall
stand up out of the nation, but not in his power; so you
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 149
may see in the llth chapter of Daniel. The angel, after
foretelling of the Persian empire, then proceeds to foretel
of Alexander, ver. 3. "And a mighty king shall stand
up, that shall rule with great dominion, and do accord
ing to his will." And then he foretels, in the 4th verse,
of the dividing of his kingdom between his four captains:
" And when he shall stand up, his kingdom shall be bro
ken, and shall be divided toward the four winds of hea
ven ; and not to his posterity, nor according to his do
minion which he ruled : for his kingdom shall be plucked
up, even for others besides those." Two of these four
captains, whose kingdoms were next to Judea, the one
had Egypt and the neighbouring countries on the south
of Judea, and the other'had Syria, and the neighbouring
countries north of Judea ; and these two are those that
are called the kings of the north and of the south in the
llth chapter of Daniel.
Now, this setting up of the Grecian empire did greatly
prepare the way for Christ's coming, and setting up his
kingdom in the world. Besides those ways common to
the other overturnings of the world in this period, that
have been already mentioned, there is one peculiar to
this revolution which I would take notice of, which did
remarkably promote the work of redemption ; and that
was, that it made the Greek language common in the
world. To have one common language understood and
used through the greater part of the world, was a thing
that did greatly prepare the way for the setting up of
Christ's kingdom. This gave advantage for spreading
the gospel from one nation to another, and so through
all nations, with vastly greater ease, than if every nation
had a distinct language, and did not understand each
other. For though some of the first preachers of the
gospel had the gift of languages, so that they could
preach in any language ; yet all had not this particular
gift ; and they that had, could not exercise it when they
would, but only at special seasons, when the Spirit of
God was pleased to inspire them in this way. And the
church in different parts of the world, as the churches
of Jerusalem, Antioch, Galatia, Corinth, and others,
which were in countries distant one from another, could
not have had that communication one with another,
which we have an account of in the book of Acts, if they
had had no common language. So it was before the
Grecian empire was set up. But after this, many in all
these countries well understood the same language, viz.
13*
150 A HISTORY OF THE
the Greek language ; which wonderfully opened the doo;
for mutual communication between those churches, so
far separated one from another. And again, the making
the Greek language common through so great a part of
the world, did wonderfully make way for the setting up
of the kingdom of Christ, because it was the language in
which the New Testament was to be originally written.
The apostles propagated the gospel through many scores
of nations; and if they coulcT not have understood the
Bible any otherwise than as it was translated into so
many languages, it would have rendered the spreading
of the gospel vastly more difficult. But by the Greek
language being made common to all, they all understood
the New Testament of Jesus Christ in the language in
which the apostles and evangelists originally wrote it :
so that as soon as ever it was written by its original
penmen, it immediately lay open to the world in a lan
guage that was commonly understood every where, as
there was no language that was so commonly under
stood in the world in Christ's and the apostles' times as
the Greek ; the cause of which was the setting up of the
Grecian empire in the world.
XV. The next thing I shall take notice of is, the trans
lating of the scriptures of the Old Testament into a lan
guage that was commonly understood by the Gentiles.
The translation that I here speak of is that into the Greek
language, that is commonly called the Septuagint, or the
translation of the Seventy. This is supposed to have
been made about fifty or sixty years after Alexander's
conquering the world. This is the first translation that
ever was made of the scriptures that we have any credi
ble account of. The canon of the Old Testament had
been completed by the prophet Malachi but about an
hundred and twenty years before in its original; and
hitherto the scriptures had remained locked up from all
other nations but the Jews, in the Hebrew tongue, which
was understood by no other nation. But now it was
translated into the Greek language, which, as we ob
served before, was a language that was commonly un
derstood by the nations oYthe world.
This translation of the Old Testament is still extant,
and is commonly in the hands of the learned men in
these days, and is made great use of by them. — The
Jews have many fables about the occasion and manner
of this translation ; but the truth of the case is supposed
to be this, that multitudes of the Jews living in other
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 151
parts of the world besides Judea, and being born and
bred among the Greeks, the Greek became their common
language, and they did not understand the original He
brew; and therefore they procured the scriptures to be
translated for their use into the Greek language; and so
henceforward the Jews, in all countries, except Judea,
were wont in their synagogues to make use of this trans
lation instead of the Hebrew.
This translation of the scriptures into a language com
monly understood through the world, prepared the way
for Christ's coming, and setting up his kingdom in the
world, and afterwards did greatly promote it. For as
the apostles went preaching through the world, they
made great use of the scriptures of the Old Testament,
and especially of the prophecies concerning Christ that
were contained in them. And by means of this transla
tion, and by the Jews being scattered every where, they
had the scriptures at hand in a language that was un
derstood by the Gentiles: and they did principally make
use of this translation in their preaching and writings
wherever they went ; as is evident by this, that in all the
innumerable quotations that are made out of the Old
Testament in their writings in the New Testament, they
are almost every where in the very words of the Septua-
gint. — The sense is the same as it is in the original He
brew ; but very often the words are different, as all that
are acquainted with their Bibles know. When the apos
tles in their epistles, and the evangelists in their histo
ries, cite passages out of the Old Testament, it is very
often in different words from what we have in the Old
Testament, as all know. But yet these citations are al
most universally in the very words of the Septuagint
version ; for that may be seen by comparing them to
gether, they being both written in the same language.
This makes it evident, that the apostles, in their preach
ing and writings, commonly made use of this transla
tion. So this very translation was that which was prin
cipally used in Christian churches through most nations
of the world for several hundred years after Christ.
XVI. The next thing is the wonderful preservation of
the church when it was imminently threatened and per
secuted under the Grecian empire.
The first time they were threatened was by Alexander
himself. When he was besieging the city of Tyre, send
ing to the Jews for assistance and supplies for his army,
and they refusing, out of a conscientious regard to their
152 A HISTORY OF THE
oath to the king of Persia, he being a man of a very furi
ous spirit, agreeable to the scripture representation of
the rough he goat, marched against them, with a design
to cut them off. But the priests going out to meet him
in their priestly garments, when he met them, God won
derfully turned his heart to spare them, and favour
them, much as he did the heart of Esau when he met
Jacob.
After this, one of the kings of Egypt, a successor of
one of Alexander's four captains, entertained a design
of destroying the nation of the Jews ; but was remark
ably and wonderfully prevented by a stronger interposi
tion of Heaven for their preservation.
But the most wonderful preservation of them all in
this period was under the cruel persecution of Antiochus
Epiphanes, king of Syria, and successor of another of
Alexander's four captains. The Jews were at that time
subject to the power of Antiochus; and he being enraged
against them, long strove to his utmost utterly to de
stroy them, and root them out ; at least all of them that
would not forsake their religion and worship his idols :
and he did indeed in a great measure waste the country,
and depopulate the city of Jerusalem ; and profaned the
temple, by setting up his idols in some parts of it ; and
persecuted the people with insatiable cruelty ; so that
we have no account of any persecution like his before.
Many of the particular circumstances of this persecution
would be very affecting, if I had time to insist on them.
— This cruel persecution began about an hundred and
seventy years before Christ. It is much spoken of in
the prophecy of Daniel, as you may see, Dan. viii. 9 — 25.
& xi. 31 — 38. These persecutions are also spoken of in.
the New Testament, as, Heb. xi. 36, 37, 38.
Antiochus intended not only to extirpate the Jewish
religion, but, as far as in him lay, the very nation ; and
particularly laboured to the utmost to destroy all copies
of the law. And considering how weak they were, in
comparison with a king of such vast dominion, the pro
vidence of God appears very wonderful in defeating his
design. Many times the Jews seemed to be on the very
brink of ruin, and just ready to be wholly swallowed
up : their enemies often thought themselves sure of ob
taining their purpose. They once came against the peo
ple with a mighty army, and with a design of killing all,
except the women and children, and of selling these for
slaves ; and they were so confident of obtaining their
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 153
purpose, and others of purchasing, that above a thousand
merchants came with the army, with money in their
hands, to buy the slaves that should be sold. But God
wonderfully stirred up and assisted one Judas, and
others his successors, that were called the Maccabees,
who, with a small handful in comparison, vanquished
their enemies time after time, and delivered their nation ;
which was foretold by Daniel, xi. 32. Speaking of An-
tiochus's persecution, he says, " And such as do wicked
ly against the covenant, shall he corrupt by flatteries :
but the people that do know their God, shall be strong,
and do exploits."
God afterwards brought this Antiochus to a fearful,
miserable end, by a loathsome disease, under dreadful
torments of body, and horrors of mind; which was fore
told, Dan. xi. 45. in these words, " Yet he shall come to
his end, and none shall help him.'
After his death, there were attempts still to destroy
the church of God ; but God baffled them all.
XVII. The next thing to be taken notice of is the de
struction of the Grecian empire, and setting up of the
Roman empire. This was the fourth overturning of the
world that was in this period. And though it was
brought to pass more gradually than the setting up of
the Grecian empire, yet it far exceeded that, and was
much the greatest and largest temporal monarchy that
ever was in the world ; so that the Roman empire was
commonly called all the world ; as it is in Luke ii. 1.
"And there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus,
that all the world should be taxed ;" i. e. all the Roman
empire.
This empire is spoken of as much the strongest and
greatest of any of the four: Dan. ii. 40. "And the fourth
kingdom shall be strong as iron ; forasmuch as iron
breaketh in pieces, and subdueth all things : and as iron
that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and
bruise." So also, Dan. vii. 7. 19. 23.
The time that the Romans first conquered and brought
under the land of Judea, was between sixty and seventy
years before Christ was born. And soon after this, the
Roman empire was established in its greatest exten* ,
and the world continued subject to this empire hencefor
ward until Christ came, and many hundred years after
wards.
The nations of the world being united in one mon
archy when Christ came, and when the apostles went
154 A HISTORY OP THE
forth to preach the gospel, did greatly prepare the way
for the spreading of the gospel, and the setting up of
Christ's kingdom in the world. For the world being
thus subject to one government, it opened a communi
cation from nation to nation, and so opportunity was
given for the more swiftly propagating the gospel through
the world. Thus we find it to be now : as if any thing
prevails in the English nation, the communication is
quick from one part of the nation to another, throughout
all parts that are subject to the English government,
much easier and quicker than to other nations, which
are not subject to the English government, and have
little to do with them. There are innumerable difficul
ties in travelling through different nations, that are un
der different independent governments, which there are
not in travelling through different parts of the same
realm, or different dominions of the same prince. So
the world being under one government, the government
of the Romans, in Christ's and the apostles' times, facili
tated the apostles' travelling, and the gospel's spreading
through the world.
XVIII. About the same time learning and philosophy
were risen to their greatest height in the heathen world.
The time of learning's flourishing in the heathen world
was principally in this period. Almost all the famous
philosophers that we have an account of among the hea
then, were after the captivity into Babylon. Almost all
the wise men of Greece and Rome flourished in this
time. These philosophers, many of them, were indeed
men of great temporal wisdom ; and that which they in
general chiefly professed to make their business, was to
inquire wherein man's chief happiness lay, and the way
in which men might obtain happiness. They seemed
earnestly to busy themselves in this inquiry, and wrote
multitudes of books about it, many of which are still ex
tant. And they were exceedingly divided in their opin
ions about it. There have been reckoned up several
hundreds of different opinions that they had concerning
it. Thus they wearied themselves in vain, wandered in
the dark, not having the glorious gospel to guide them.
God was pleased to suffer men to do the utmost that they
could with human wisdom, and to try the extent of their
own understandings to find out the way to happiness,
before the true light came to enlighten the world ; before
he sent the great Prophet to lead men in the right way
to happiness. God suffered these great philosophers to
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 155
try what they could do for six hundred years together;
and then it proved, by the events of so long a time, that
all they could do was in vain; the world not becoming
wiser, better, or happier under their instructions, but
growing more and more foolish, wicked, and miserable.
He suffered their wisdom and philosophy to come to the
greatest height before Christ came, that it might be seen
how far reason and philosophy could go in their highest
ascent, that the necessity of a divine teacher might ap
pear before Christ came. And God was pleased to make
foolish the wisdom of this world, to shew men the folly
Of their best wisdom, by the doctrines of his glorious
gospel which were above the reach of all their philoso
phy. See 1 Cor. i. 19, 20, 21.
And after God had showed the vanity of human learn
ing, when set up in the room of the gospel, God was
pleased to make it subservient to the purposes of Christ's
kingdom, as an handmaid to divine revelation ; and so
the prevailing of learning in the world before Christ
came, made way for his coming both these ways, viz. as
thereby the vanity of human wisdom was shown, and
the necessity of the gospel appeared ; and also as here
by an handmaid was prepared to the gospel ; for so it
was made use of in the Apostle Paul, who was famed for
his much learning, as you may see, Acts xxvi. 24. and
was skilled not only in the learning of the Jews, but also
of the philosophers; and improved it to the purposes of
the gospel ; as you may see he did in disputing with the
philosophers at Athens, Acts xvii. 22. &c. He by his
learning knew how to accommodate himself in his dis
courses to learned men, as appears by this discourse
of his; and he knew well how to improve what he
had read in their writings; and he here cites their
own poets. And now Dionysius, that was a philoso
pher, was converted by him, and, as ecclesiastical his
tory gives us an account, made a great instrument of
promoting the gospel. And there were many others in
that and the following ages, who were eminently useful
by their human learning in promoting the interests of
Christ's kingdom.
XIX. Just before Christ was born, the Roman empire
was raised to its greatest height, and also settled in
peace. About four and twenty'years before Christ was
born, Augustus Caesar, the first Roman emperor, began
to rule as emperor of the world. Until then the Roman
empire had of a long time been a commonwealth under
156 A HISTORY OF THE
the government of the senate : but then it became an
absolute monarchy. This Augustus Caesar, as he was
the first, so he was the greatest of all the Roman empe
rors : he reigned in the greatest glory. Thus the power
of the heathen world, which was Satan's visible king
dom, was raised to its greatest height, after it had been
rising higher and higher, and strengthening itself more
and more from the days of Solomon to this day, which
was about a thousand years. Now it appeared at a
greater height than ever it appeared from the first be
ginning of Satan's heathenish kingdom, which was prob
ably about the time of the building of Babel. Now the
heathen world was in its greatest glory for strength,
wealth, and learning.
God did two things to prepare the way for Christ's
coming, wherein he took a contrary method from that
which human wisdom would have taken. He brought
his own visible people very low, and made them weak ;
but the heathen, that were his enemies, he exalted to the
greatest height, for the more glorious triumph of the
cross of Christ. With a small number in their greatest
weakness, he conquered his enemies in their greatest
glory. Thus Christ triumphed over principalities and
powers in his cross.
Augustus Caesar had been for many years establish
ing the state of the Roman empire, subduing his ene
mies in one part and another, until the very year that
Christ was born ; when all his enemies being subdued,
his dominion over the world seemed to be settled in
its greatest glory. All was established in peace; in
token whereof the Romans shut the temple of Janus,
which was an established symbol among them of there
being universal peace throughout the Roman empire.
And this universal peace, which was begun that year that
Christ was born, lasted twelve years, until the year that
Christ disputed with doctors in the temple.
Thus the world, after it had been, as it were, in a con
tinual convulsion for so many hundred years together,
like the four winds striving together on the tumultuous
raging ocean, whence arose those four great monar
chies, being now established in the greatest height of the
fourth and last monarchy, and settled in quietness ; now
all things are ready for the birth of Christ. This re
markable universal peace after so many ages of tumult
and war, was a fit prelude for the ushering of the glori
ous Pi ince of Peace into the world.
WORK OF' REDEMPTION. 157
Thus I have gone through the first grand period of
the whole space between the fall of man and the end of
the world, viz. that from the fall to the time of the incar
nation of Christ ; and have shown the truth of the first
proposition, viz. That from the fall of man to the incar
nation of Christ, God was doing those things that were
preparatory to Christ's coming, and were forerunners
of it.
IMPROVEMENT.
BEFORE I proceed to the next proposition, I would make
some few remarks, by way of improvement, upon what
has been said under this.
I. From what has been said, we may strongly argue,
that Jesus of Nazareth is indeed the Son of God, and
the Saviour of the world ; and so that the Christian re
ligion is the true religion, seeing that Christ is the very
person so evidently pointed at, in all the great dispensa
tions of divine providence from the very fall of man, and
was so undoubtedly in so many instances foretold from
age to age, and shadowed forth in a vast variety of
types and figures. If we seriously consider the course
of things from the beginning, and observe the motions
of all the great wheels of providence from one age to
another, we shall discern that they all tend hither.
They are all as so many lines, whose course, if it be ob
served and accurately followed, it will be found that
every one centres here. It is so very plain in many
things, that it would argue stupidity to deny it. This
therefore is undeniable, that this person is a divine per
son sent from God, that came into the world with his
commission and authority, to do his work and to de
clare his mind. The great Governor of the world, in all
his great works before and since the flood, to Jews and
Gentiles, down to the time of Christ's birth, has declared
it. It cannot be any vain imagination, but a plain and
evident truth, that that person that was born at Bethle
hem, and dwelt at Nazareth, and at Capernaum, and
was crucified without the gates of Jerusalem, must be
the great Messiah, or anointed of God. And blessed are
all they that believe in and confess him, and miserable
are all that deny him. This shows the unreasonable
ness of the Deists, who deny revealed religion, and of
158 A HISTORY "OF THE
the Jews, who deny that this Jesus is the Messiah fore
told and promised to their fathers.
Here it may be some persons may be ready to object,
and say, That it may be, some subtle, cunning men con
trived this history, and these prophecies, so that they
should all point to Jesus Christ on purpose to confirm it,
that he is the Messiah. To such it may be replied, How
could such a thing be contrived by cunning men to point
to Jesus Christ, long before he ever was born ? — How
could they know that ever any such person would be
born ] — And how could their craft and subtilty help them
to foresee and point at an event that was to come to pass
many ages afterwards! for no fact can be more evident,
than that the Jews had those writings long before Christ
was born ; as they have them still in great veneration,
wherever they are, in all their dispersions through the
world ; and they would never have received such a con
trivance from Christians, to point to and confirm Jesus
to be the Messiah, whom they always denied to be the Mes
siah ; and much less would they have been made to be
lieve that they always had had those books in their
hands, when they were first made and imposed upon
them.
II. What has been said, affords a strong argument for
the divine authority of the books of the Old Testament,
from that admirable harmony there is in them, whereby
they all point to the same thing. For we may see by
what has been said, how all the parts of the Old Testa
ment, though written by so many different penmen, and
in ages distant one from another, do all harmonize one
with another ; all agree in one, and all centre in the
same thing, and that a future thing; an event which it
was impossible any one of them should know but by di
vine revelation, even the future coming of Christ. This
is most evident and manifest in them, as appears by
what has been said.
Now, if the Old Testament was not inspired by God,
what account can be given of such an agreement 7 For
if these books were only human writings, written with
out any divine direction, then none of these penmen
knew that there would come such a person as Jesus
Christ into the world ; his coming was only a mere fig
ment of their own brain : and if so, how happened it,
that this figment of theirs came to pass? — How came a
vain imagination of theirs, which they foretold without
any manner of ground for their prediction, to be so ex-
WORK OF. REDEMPTION. 159
actly fulfilled? and especially, h.ow did they come all to
agree in it, all pointing exactly to the same thing, though
many of them lived so many hundred years distant one
from another ]
This admirable consent and agreement in a future
event, is therefore a clear and certain evidence of the di
vine authority of those writings.
III. Hence we may learn what a weak and ignorant
objection it is that some make against some parts of the
Old Testament's being the word of God, that they con
sist so much of histories of the wars and civil transac
tions of the kings and people of the nation of the Jews.
Some say, We find here among the books of a particu
lar nation, histories which they kept of the state of their
nation, from one age to another; histories of their kings
and rulers, histories of their wars with the neighbouring
nations, and histories of the changes that happened from
time to time in their state and government : and so we
find that other nations used to keep histories of their
public affairs, as well as they ; and, why then should
we think that these histories which the Jews kept are
the word of God, more than those of other people 1 But
what has been said, shows the folly and vanity of such
an objection. For hereby it appears, that the case of
these histories is very different from that of all other his
tories. This history alone gives us an account of the
first original of all things; and this history alone de
duces things down in a wonderful series from that ori
ginal, giving an idea of the grand scheme of divine pro
vidence, as tending to its great end. And together with
the doctrines and prophecies contained in it, the same
book gives a view of the whole series of the great events
of divine providence, from the first original to the last
end and consummation of all things, giving an excellent
and glorious account of the wise and holy designs of the
Governor of the world in all.
No common history has such penmen as this history,
which was all written by men who came with evident
signs and testimonies of their being prophets of the most
high God, immediately inspired.
And the histories that were written, as we have seen
from what has been said under this proposition, do all
contain those great events of providence, by which it
appears how God has been carrying on the glorious di
vine work of redemption from age to age. Though they
are histories, yet they are no less full of divine instruc-
160 A HISTORY OP THE
tion, and those things that show forth Christ, and his
glorious gospel, than other parts of the holy scriptures
which are not historical.
To object against a book's being divine, merely be
cause it is historical, is a poor objection; just as if that
could not be the word of God which gives an account of
what is past ; or as though it were not reasonable to
suppose, that God, in a revelation he should give man
kind, would give us any relation of the dispensations of
his own providence. If it be so, it must be because his
works are not worthy to be related ; it must be because
the scheme of his government, and series of his dispensa
tions towards his church, and towards the world that he
has made, whereby he has ordered and disposed it from
age to age, is not worthy that any record should be kept
of it.
The objection that is made, that it is a common thing
for nations and kingdoms to write histories and keep re
cords of their wars, and the revolutions that come to
pass in their territories, is so far from being a weighty
objection against the historical part of scripture, as
though it were not the word of God, that it is a strong
argument in favour of it. For if reason and the light of
nature teaches all civilized nations to keep records of
the events of their human government, and the series of
their administrations, and to publish histories for the in
formation of others; how much more may we expect
that God would give the world a record of the dispensa
tions of his divine government, which doubtless is infi
nitely more worthy of an history for our information ?
If wise kings have taken care that there should be good
histories written of the nations over which they have
reigned, shall we think it incredible, that Jesus Christ
should take care that his church, which is his nation, his
peculiar people, should have in their hands a certain in
fallible history of their nation, and of his government of
them 1
If it had not been for the history of the Old Testament,
how wofully should we have been left in the dark about
many things which the church of God needs to know !
How ignorant should we have been of God's dealings
towards mankind, and towards his church, from the be
ginning! and we would have been wholly in the dark
about the creation of the world, the fall of man, the first
rise and continued progress of the dispensations of grace
towards fallen mankind! and we should have known
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 161
nothing how God at first set up a church in the world,
and how it was preserved ; after what manner he gov
erned it from the beginning; how the light of the gospel
first began to dawn in the world; how it increased, and
how things were preparing for the coming of Christ.
If we are Christians, we belong to that building of God
that has been the subject of our discourse from this text:
but if it had not been for the history of the Old Testa
ment, we should never have known what was the first
occasion of God's going about this building, and how the
foundation of it was laid at first, and how it has gone on
from the beginning. The times of the history of the Old
Testament are mostly times that no other history reaches
up to ; and therefore, if God had not taken care to give
and preserve an account of these things for us, we should
have been wholly without them.
Those that object against the authority of the Old Tes
tament history of the nation of the Jews, may as well
make an objection against Moses's account of the crea
tion that it is historical ; for, in the other, we have a
history of a work no less important, viz. the work of re
demption. Yea, this is a far greater and more glorious
work, as we observed before ; that if it be inquired
which of the two works, the work of creation, or the
work of providence, is greatest ; it must be answered,
the work of providence ; but the work of redemption is
the greatest of the works of providence.
And let those who make this objection consider what
part of the Old Testament history can be spared without
making a great breach in that thread or series of events
by which this glorious work had been carried on. — This
leads me to observe,
IV. That, from what has been said, we may see much
of the wisdom of God in the composition of the scrip
tures of the Old Testament, i. e. in the parts of which
it consists. By what has been said, we may see that
God hath wisely given us such revelations in the Old
Testament as we needed. Let us briefly take a view
of the several parts of it, and of the need there was of
them.
Thus it was necessary that we should have some ac
count of the creation of the world, and of our first pa
rents, and their primitive state, and of the fall, and a
brief account of the old world, and of the degeneracy
of it, and of the universal deluge, and some account of
the origin of nations after this destruction of mankind.
14*
162 A HISTORY OP THE
It seems necessary that there should be some account
of the succession of the church of God from the begin
ning : and seeing God suffered all the world to degener
ate, and only took one nation to be his people, to pre
serve the true worship and religion until the Saviour of
the world should come, that in them the world might
gradually be prepared for that great light, and those
wonderful things that he was to be the author of, and
that they might be a typical nation, and that in them
God might shadow forth and teach, as under a veil, all
future glorious things of the gospel ; it was therefore ne
cessary that we should have some account of this thing,
how it was first done by the calling of Abraham, and by
their being bond-slaves in Egypt, and how they were
brought to Canaan. It was "necessary that we should
have some account of the revelation which God made of
himself to that people, in giving their law, and in the ap
pointment of their typical worship, and those things
wherein the gospel is veiled, and of the forming of that
people, both as to their civil and ecclesiastical state.
It seems exceeding necessary that we should have
some account of their being actually brought to Canaan,
the country that was their promised land, and where
they always dwelt. It seems very necessary that we
should have a history of the successions of the church
of Israel, and of those providences of God towards them,
which were most considerable and fullest of gospel mys
tery. It seems necessary that we should have some ac
count of the highest promised external glory of that na
tion under David and Solomon, and that we should have
a very particular account of David, whose history is so
full of the gospel, and so necessary in order to introduce
the gospel into the world, and in whom began the race
of their kings ; and that we should have some account
of the building of the temple, which was also full of gos
pel mystery.
And it is a matter of great consequence, that we should
have some account of Israel's dividing from Judah, and
of the ten tribes' captivity and utter rejection, and a brief
account why, and therefore a brief history of them until
that time. It is necessary that we should have an ac
count of the succession of the kings of Judah, and of the
church, until their captivity into Babylon ; and that we
should have some account of their return from their cap
tivity, and re-settlement in their own land, and of the
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 163
origin of the last state that the church was in before
Christ came.
A little consideration will convince every one, that all
these things were necessary, and that none of them
could be spared ; and in the general, that it was neces
sary that we should have a history of God's church un
til such times as are within the reach of human histo
ries ; and it was of vast importance that we should have
an inspired history of those times of the Jewish church,
wherein there was kept up a more extraordinary inter
course between God and them, and while he used to
dwell among them as it were visibly, revealing himself
by the Shechina, by Urim and Thummim, and by pro
phecy, and so more immediately to order their affairs.
And it was necessary that we should have some account
of the great dispensations of God in prophecy, which
were to be after the finishing of inspired history ; and so
it was exceeding suitable and needful that there should
be a number of prophets raised who should foretel the
coming of the Son of God, and the nature and glory of
his kingdom, to be as so many harbingers to make way
for him, and that their prophecies should remain in the
church.
It was also a matter of great consequence that the
church should have a book of divine songs given by in
spiration from God, wherein there should be a lively re
presentation of the true spirit of devotion, of faith, hope,
and divine love, joy, resignation, humility, obedience, re
pentance, &c., and also that we should have from God
such books of moral instructions as we have in Proverbs
and Ecclesiastes, relating to the affairs and state of man
kind, and the concerns of human life, containing rules of
true wisdom and prudence for our conduct in all circum
stances; and that we should have particularly a song
representing the great love between Christ and his spouse
the church, particularly adapted to the disposition and
holy affections of a true Christian soul towards Christ,
and representing his grace and marvellous love to, and
delight in, his people; as we have in Solomon's Song;
and especially that we should have a book to teach us
how to conduct ourselves under affliction, seeing the
church of God here is in a militant state, and God's peo
ple do through much tribulation enter into the kingdom
of heaven ; and the church is for so long a time under
trouble, and meets with such exceedingly fiery trials,
and extreme sufferings, before her time of peace and
164 A HISTORY OF THE
rest in the latter ages of the world shall come : there
fore God has given us a book most proper in these cir
cumstances, even the book of Job, written upon occa
sion of the afflictions of a particular saint, and was pro
bably at first given to the church in Egypt under her af
flictions there : and is made use of by the Apostle to
comfort Christians under persecutions, James v. 11. "Ye
have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the
end of the Lord ; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of ten
der mercy." God was also pleased, in this book of Job,
to give some view of the ancient divinity before the giv
ing of the law.
Thus, from this brief review, I think it appears, that
every part of the scriptures of the Old Testament is very
useful and necessary, and no part of it can be spared,
without loss to the church. And therefore, as 1 said, the
wisdom of God is conspicuous in ordering that the scrip
tures of the Old Testament should consist of those very
books of which they do consist.
Before I dismiss this particular, I would add, that it is
very observable, that the history of the Old Testament
is large and particular where the great affair of redemp
tion required it ; as where there was most done towards
this work, and most to typify Christ, and to prepare the
way for him. Thus it is very large and particular in the
history of Abraham and the other patriarchs ; but very
short in the account we have of the time which the child
ren of Israel spent in Egypt. So again it is large in the
account of the redemption out of Egypt, and the first
settling of the affairs of the Jewish church and nation in
Moses and Joshua's time ; but much shorter in the ac
count of the times of the judges. So again, it is large
and particular in the account of David's and Solomon's
times, and then very short in the history of the ensuing
reigns. Thus the accounts are large or short, just as
there is more or less of the affair of redemption to be seen
in them.
V. From what has been said, we may see, that Christ
and his redemption are the great subjects of the whole
Bible. Concerning the New Testament, the matter is
plain ; and by what has been said on this subject hither
to, it appears to be so also with respect to the Old Tes
tament. Christ and his redemption is the great subject
of the prophecies of the Old Testament, as has been
shown. It has also been shown, that he is the great sub
ject of the songs of the Old Testament ; and the moral
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 165
rules and precepts are all given in subordination to him.
And Christ and his redemption are also the great subject
of the history of the Old Testament from the beginning-
all along ; and even the history of the creation is brought
in as an introduction to the history of redemption that
immediately follows it. The whole book, both Old Tes
tament and New, is filled up with the gospel ; only with
this difference, that the Old Testament contains the gos
pel under a veil, but the New contains it unveiled, so that
we may see the glory of the Lord with open face.
VI. By what has been said, we may see the usefulness
and excellency of the Old Testament. Some are ready
to look on the Old Testament as being, as it were, out
of date, and as if we in these days of the gospel have but
little to do with it; which is a very great mistake, aris
ing from want of observing the nature and design of the
Old Testament, which, if it were observed, would appear
full of the gospel of Christ, and would in an excellent
manner illustrate and confirm the glorious doctrines and
promises of the New Testament. Those parts of the
Old Testament which are commonly looked upon as con
taining the least divine instruction, are as it were mines
and treasures of gospel knowledge ; and the reason why
they are thought to contain so little is, because persons
do but superficially read them. The treasures which are
hid underneath are not observed. They only look on
the top of the ground, and so suddenly pass a judgment
that there is nothing there. But they never dig into the
mine : if they did, they would find it richly stored with
silver and gold, and would be abundantly requited for
their pains.
What has been said, may show us what a precious
treasure God has committed into our hands, in that he
has given us the Bible. How little do most persons con
sider how much they enjoy, in that they have the posses
sion of that holy book the Bible, which they have in
their hands, and may converse with it as they please.
What an excellent book is this, and how far exceeding
all human writings, that reveals God to us, and gives us
a view of the grand design and glorious scheme of pro
vidence from the beginning of the world, either in his
tory or prophecy ; that reveals the great Redeemer and
his glorious redemption, and the various steps by which
God accomplishes it from the first foundation to the top
stone ! Shall we prize a history which gives us a clear
account of some great earthly prince, or mighty warrior,
166 A HISTORY OF THE
as of Alexander the Great, or Julius Caesar, or the Duke
of Marl borough ] — And, shall we not prize the history
that God gives us of the glorious kingdom of his Son
Jesus Christ, the Prince and Saviour, and of the wars
and other great transactions of that King of kings, and
Lord of armies, the Lord mighty in battle, the history
of the things which he has wrought for the redemption
of his chosen people]
VII. What has been said, may make us sensible how
much most persons are to blame for their inattentive,
unobservant way of reading the scriptures. — How much
do the scriptures contain, if it were but observed? The
Bible is the most comprehensive book in the world. But,
what will all this signify to us, if we read it without ob
serving what is the drift of the Holy Ghost in it] The
Psalmist, Psa. cxix. 18. begs of God, "That he would
enlighten his eyes, that he might behold wondrous things
out of his law." The scriptures are full of wondrous
things. Those histories which are commonly read as
if they were only histories of the private concerns of
such and such particular persons, such as the histories
of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and Joseph, and the his
tory of Ruth, and the histories of particular lawgivers
and princes, as the history of Joshua and the Judges,
and David, and the Israelitish princes, are accounts of
vastly greater things, things of greater importance, and
more' extensive concernment, than they that read them
are commonly aware of.
The histories of scripture are commonly read as if they
were stories written only to entertain men's fancies, and
to while away their leisure hours, when the infinitely
great things contained or pointed at in them are passed
over and never taken notice of. Whatever treasures
the scriptures contain, we shall be never the better for
them if we do not observe them. He that has a Bible,
and does not observe what is contained in it, is like a
man who has a box full of silver and gold, and does not
know it, does not observe that it is any thing more than
a vessel filled with common stones. As long as it is thus
with him, he will be never the better for his treasure:
for he that knows not that he has a treasure, will never
make use of what he has, and so might as well be with
out it. He who has a plenty of the choicest food stored
up in his house, and does not know it, will never taste
what he has, and will be as likely to starve as if his
house were empty.
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 167
VIII. What has been said may show us how great a
person Jesus Christ is, and how great an errand he came
into the world upon, seeing there was so much done to
prepare the way for his coming. God had been doing
nothing else but prepare the way for his coming, and
doing the work which he had to do in the world, through
all ages of the world from the very beginning. If we
had notice of a certain stranger's being about to come
into a country, and should observe that a great prepa
ration was made for his coming, that many months were
taken up in it, and great things were done, many great
alterations were made in the state of the whole country,
and that many hands were employed, and persons of
great note were engaged in making preparation for the
coming of this person, and the whole country was over
turned, and all the affairs and concerns of the country
were ordered so as to be subservient to the design of
entertaining that person when he should come ; it would
be natural for us to think with ourselves, why, surely,
this person is some extraordinary person indeed, and it
is some very great business that he is coming upon.
How great a person then must he be, for whose com
ing into the world the great God of heaven and earth,
and Governor of all things, spent four thousand years in
preparing the way, going about it soon after the world
was created, and from age to age doing great things,
bringing mighty events to pass, accomplishing wonders
without number, often overturning the world in order to
it, and causing every thing in the state of mankind, and
all revolutions and changes in the habitable world from
generation to generation to be subservient to this great
design ] Surely this must be some great and extraordi
nary person indeed, and a great work indeed it must
needs be that he is coming about.
We read, Matt. xxi. 8, 9, 10, that when Christ was
coming into Jerusalem, and the multitudes ran before
him, and cut down branches of palm trees, and strewed
them in the way, and others spread their garments in
the way, and cried, " Hosannah to the son of David,"
that the whole city was moved, saying, Who is this?
They wondered who that extraordinary person should
be, that there should be such an ado made on the occa
sion of his coming into the city, and to prepare the way
before him. But if we consider what has been said on
this subject, what great things were done in all ages to
prepare the way for Christ's coming into the world, and
168 A HISTORY OP THE
how the world was often overturned to make way for it;
much more may we cry out. Who is this? What great
person is this? and say, as in Psa. xxiv. 8, 10. " Who is
this king of glory," that God should show such respect,
and put such vast honour upon him! Surely this person
is honourable indeed in God's eyes, and greatly beloved
of him ; and surely it is a great errand upon which he is
sent into the world.
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 169
PEKIOD II.
HAVING shown how the work of redemption was carried
on through the first period, from the fall of man to the
incarnation of Christ, I come now to the second period,
viz. the time of Christ's humiliation, or the space from
the incarnation of Christ to his resurrection. And this
is the most remarkable article of time that ever was or
ever will be. Though it was but between thirty and
forty years, yet more was done in it than had been done
from the beginning of the world to that time. We have
observed, that all that had been done from the fall to the
incarnation of Christ, was only preparatory for what
was done now. And it may also be observed, that all
that was done before the beginning of time, in the eter
nal counsels of God, and that eternal transaction there
was between the persons of the Trinity, chiefly respect
ed this period. We therefore now proceed to consider
the second proposition, viz.
That during the time of Christ's humiliation, from his
incarnation to his resurrection, the purchase of redemp
tion was made.
Though there were many things done in the affair of
redemption from the fall of man to this time, though mil
lions of sacrifices had been offered up; yet nothing was
done to purchase redemption before Christ's incarna
tion : no part of the purchase was made, no part of the
price was offered until now. But as soon as Christ was
incarnate, then the purchase began immediately without
any delay. And the whole time of Christ's humiliation,
from the morning that Christ began to be incarnate, un
til the morning that he rose from the dead, was taken
up in this purchase. And then the purchase was entirely
and completely finished. As nothing was done before
Christ's incarnation, so nothing was done after his res
urrection, to purchase redemption for men. Nor will
there ever be any thing more done to all eternity. But
15
170 A HISTORY OF THE
that very moment that the human nature of Christ ceased
to remain under the power of death, the utmost farthing
was paid of the price of the salvation of every one of the
elect.
But for the more orderly and regular consideration
of the great things done by our Redeemer to purchase
redemption for us,
1. I would speak of Christ's becoming incarnate to
capacitate himself for this purchase; — and,
2. I would speak of the purchase itself.
PART I.
FIRST, I would consider Christ's coming into the world,
or his taking upon him our nature to put himself in a
capacity to purchase redemption for us. — Christ became
incarnate, or, which is the same thing, became man, to
put himself in a capacity for working out our redemp
tion : for though Christ, as God, was infinitely sufficient
for the work, yet to his being in an immediate capacity
for it, it was needful that he should not only be God, but
man. If Christ had remained only in the divine nature,
he would not have been in a capacity to have purchased
our salvation ; not from any imperfection of the divine
nature, but by reason of its absolute and infinite perfec
tion : for Christ, merely as God, was not capable either
of that obedience or suffering that was needful. The
divine nature is not capable of suffering; for it is infi
nitely above all suffering. Neither is it capable of obe
dience to that law that was given to man. It is as im
possible that one who is only God, should obey the law
that was given to man, as it is that he should suffer
man's punishment.
And it was necessary not only that Christ should take
upon him a created nature, but that he should take upon
him our nature. It would not have sufficed for us for
Christ to have become an angel, and to have obeyed and
suffered in the angelic nature. But it was necessary
that he should become a man, and that upon three ac
counts.
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 171
1. It was needful to answer the law, that that nature
should obey the law, to which the law was given. Man's
law could not be answered, but by being obeyed by
man. God insisted upon it, that the law which he had
given to man should be honoured and submitted to, and
fulfilled by the nature of man, otherwise the law could
not be answered for men. The words that were spoken,
Thou shalt not eat thereof, Thou shalt, or Thou shalt
not do thus or thus, were spoken to the race of man
kind, to the human nature; and therefore the human
nature must fulfil them.
2. It was needful to answer the law that the nature
that sinned should die. These words, " Thou shalt sure
ly die," respect the human nature. The same nature to
which the command was given, was the nature to which
the threatening was directed.
3. God saw meet, that the same world which was the
stage of man's fall and ruin, should also be the stage of
his redemption. We read often of his coming into the
world to save sinners, and of God's sending him into the
world for this purpose. It was needful that he should
come into this sinful, miserable, undone world, to re
store and save it. In order to man's recovery, it was
needful that he should come down to man, to the world
that was man's proper habitation, and that he should
tabernacle with us : John i. 14. " The Word was made
flesh, and dwelt among us."
Concerning the incarnation of Christ, I would observe
these following things.
I. The incarnation itself; in which especially two
things are to be considered, viz.
1. His conception, which was in the womb of one of
the race of mankind, whereby he became truly the Son
of Man, as he was often called. He was one of the pos
terity of Adam, and a child of Abraham, and a son of
David, according to God's promise. But his conception
was not in the way of ordinary generation, but by the
power of the Holy Ghost. Christ was formed in the
womb of the Virgin, of the substance of her body, by the
power of the Spirit of God. So that he was the imme
diate son of the woman, but not the immediate son of any
male whatsoever ; and so was the seed of the woman,
and the son of a virgin, one that had never known man.
2. His birth. — Though the conception of Christ was
supernatural, yet after he was conceived, and so the in
carnation of Christ begun, his human nature was gradu-
172 A HISTORY OF THE
ally perfected in the womb of the virgin, in a way of na
tural progress ; and so his birth was in the way of na
ture. But his conception being supernatural, by the
power of the Holy Ghost, he was both conceived and
born without sin.
II. The second thing I would observe concerning the
incarnation of Christ, is the fulness of the time in which
it was accomplished. It was after things had been pre
paring for it from the very first fall of mankind, and
when all things were ready. It came to pass at a time,
which in infinite wisdom was the most fit and proper:
Gal. iv. 4. " But when the fulness of time was come, God
sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the
law."
It was now the most proper time on every account.
Any time before the flood would not have been so fit a
time. For then the mischief and ruin that the fall
brought on mankind, was not so fully seen. The curse
did not so fully come on the earth before the flood, as it
did afterwards: for though the ground was cursed in a
great measure before, yet it pleased God that the curse
should once, before the restoration by Christ, be execut
ed in an universal destruction, as it were, of the very
form of the earth, that the dire effects of the fall might
once in such a way be seen before the recovery by
Christ. Though mankind were mortal before the flood, yet
their lives were the greater part of a thousand years in
length, a kind of immortality in comparison with what
the life of man is now. It pleased God, that that curse,
" Dust thou art, and unto dust thou shalt return," should
have its full accomplishment, and be executed in its
greatest degree on mankind, before the Redeemer came
to purchase never ending life for man.
It would not have been so fit a time for Christ to
come, after the flood, before Moses's time: for until then
mankind were not so universally apostatized from the
true God ; they were not fallen universally into heathen
ish darkness; and so the need of Christ, the light of the
world, was not so evident : and the woful consequence
of the fall with respect to man's mortality, was not so
fully manifest until then ; for man's life was not so short
ened as to be reduced to the present standard until
about Moses's time.
It was most fit that the time of the Messiah's coming
should not be until many ages after Moses's time; until
all nations, but the children of Israel, had lain long in
WORK OP REDEMPTION. 173
heathenish darkness; that the remedilessness of their
disease might by long experience be seen, and so the
absolute necessity of the heavenly physician, before he
came.
Another reason why Christ did not come soon after
the flood probably was, that the earth might be full of
people, that Christ might have the more extensive king
dom, and that the effects of his light, and power, and
grace, might be glorified, and that his victory over Sa
tan might be attended with the more glory in the multi
tude of his conquests. It was also needful that the com
ing of Christ should be many ages after Moses, that the
church might be prepared which was formed by Moses
for his coming, by the Messiah's being long prefigured,
and by his being many ways foretold, and by his being
long expected. It was not proper that Christ should
conic before the Babylonish captivity, because Satan's
kingdom was not then come to the height. The heathen
world before that consisted of lesser kingdoms. But
God saw meet that the Messiah should come in the time
of one of the four great monarchies of the world. Nor
was it proper that he should come in the time of the Ba
bylonish monarchy; for it was God's will, that several
general monarchies should follow one another, and that
the coming of the Messiah should be in the time of the
last, which appeared above them all. The Persian mon
archy, by overcoming the Babylonian, appeared above
it : and so the Grecian, by overcoming the Persian, ap
peared above that; and for the same reason, the Roman
above the Grecian. Now it was the will of God, that his
Son should make his appearance in the world in the
time of this greatest and strongest monarchy, which was
Satan's visible kingdom in the world; that, by overcom
ing this, he might visibly overcome Satan's kingdom in
its greatest strength and glory, and so obtain the more
complete triumph over Satan himself.
It was not proper that Christ should come before the
Babylonish captivity. For, before that, we have not his
tories of the state of the heathen world, to give us an
idea of the need of a Saviour. And besides, before that,
learning did not much flourish, and so there had not
been an opportunity to show the insufficiency of human
learning and wisdom to reform and save mankind.
Again, before that, the Jews were not dispersed over the
world, as they were afterwards ; and so things were not
prepared in this respect for the coming of Christ. The
15*
174
A HISTORY OF THE
necessity of abolishing the Jewish dispensation was not
then so apparent as it was afterwards, by reason of the
dispersion of the Jews ; neither was the way prepared
for the propagation of the gospel, as it was afterwards,
by the same dispersion. Many other things might be
mentioned, by which it would appear, that no other time
before that very time in which Christ did come, would
have been proper for his appearing in the world to pur
chase the redemption of men.
III. The next thing that I would observe concerning
the incarnation of Christ, is the greatness of this event.
Christ's incarnation was a greater and more wonderful
thing than ever had come to pass; and there has been
but one that has ever come to pass which was greater,
and that was the death of Christ, which was afterwards.
But Christ's incarnation was a greater thing than had
ever come to pass before. The creation of the world
was a very great thing, but not so great a thing as the
incarnation of Christ. It was a great thing for God to
make the creature, but not so great as for God, as for the
Creator himself, to become a creature. We have spoken
of many great things that were accomplished from one
age to another, in the ages between the fall of man and
the incarnation of Christ : but God's becoming man was
a greater thing than they all. When Christ "was born,
the greatest person was born that ever was, or ever will
be born.
IV. What I would next observe concerning the incar
nation of Christ, are the remarkable circumstances of it ;
such as his being born of a poor virgin, that was a pious
holy person, but poor, as appeared by her offering at her
purification : Luke ii. 24. " And to offer a sacrifice ac
cording to that which is said in the law of the Lord, a pair
of turtle doves, or two young pigeons." Which refers
to Lev. v. 7. " And if she be not able to bring a lamb,
then she shall bring two turtle doves, or two young
pigeons." And this poor virgin was espoused to an hus
band who was a poor man. Though they were both of
the royal family of David, the most honourable family,
and Joseph was the rightful heir to the crown ; yet the
family was reduced to a very low state; which is repre
sented by the tabernacle of David's being fallen or bro
ken down, Amos ix. 1 1. " In that day will I raise up the
tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the
breaches thereof, and I will raise up his ruins, and I will
build it as in the days of old."
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 175
He was born in the town of Bethlehem, as was fore
told : and there was a very remarkable providence of
God to bring about the fulfilment of this prophecy, the
taxing of all the world by Augustus Caesar, as in Luke ii.
He was born in a very low condition, even in a stable,
and laid in a manger.
V. I would observe the concomitants of this great
event, or the remarkable events with which it was at
tended. — And,
1. The first thing I would take notice of that attended
the incarnation of Christ, was the return of the Spirit;
which indeed began a little before the incarnation of
Christ ; but yet was given on occasion of that, as it was
to reveal either his birth, or the birth of his forerunner,
John the Baptist. I have before observed how the spirit
of prophecy ceased not long after the book of Malachi
was written. From about the same time visions and im
mediate revelations ceased also. But now, on this occa
sion, they are granted anew, and the Spirit in these ope
rations returns again. The first instance of its restora
tion that we have any account of is in the vision of
Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist ; which we
read of in the first chapter of Luke. The next is in the
vision which the Virgin Mary had, of which we read al
so in the same chapter. The third is in the vision which
Joseph had, of which we read in the first chapter of Mat
thew. In the next place, the Spirit was given to Eliza
beth, Luke i. 41. Next, it was given to Mary, as ap
pears by her song, Luke i. 46, &c. Then to Zacharias
again, ibid. ver. 64. Then it was sent to the shepherds,
of which we have an account in Luke ii. 9. Then it was
given to Simeon, Luke ii. 25. Then to Anna, ver. 36.
Then to the wise men in the east. Then to Joseph again,
directing him to flee into Egypt, and after that directing
his return.
2. The next concomitant of Christ's incarnation that
I would observe is, the great notice that was taken of it
in heaven, and on earth. How it was noticed by the
glorious inhabitants of the heavenly world, appears by
their joyful songs on this occasion, heard by the shep
herds in the night. This was the greatest event of Provi
dence that ever the angels had beheld. We read of their
singing praises when they saw the formation of this lower
world : Job xxxviii. 7. " When the morning stars sang
together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy." And
as they sang praises then, so they do now, on this much
176 A HISTOIiy OF THE
greater occasion, of the birth of the Son of God, who is
the Creator of the world.
The glorious angels had all along expected this event.
They had taken great notice of the prophecies and prom
ises of these things all along : for we are told, that the
angels desire to look into the affairs of redemption, 1
Pet. i. 12. They had all along been the ministers of Christ
in this affair of redemption, in all the several steps of it
down from the very fall of man. So we read, that they
were employed in God's dealings with Abraham, and in
his dealings with Jacob, and in his dealings with the Is
raelites from time to time. And doubtless they had long
joyfully expected the coming of Christ ; but now they
see it accomplished, and therefore greatly rejoice, and
sing praises on this occasion.
Notice was taken of it by some among the Jews ; as
particularly by Elizabeth and the Virgin Mary before the
birth of Christ ; not to say by John the Baptist before he
was born, when he leaped in his mother's womb as it
were for joy, at the voice of the salutation of Mary. But
Elizabeth and Mary do most joyfully praise God togeth
er, when they meet with Christ and his forerunner in
their wombs, and the Holy Spirit in their souls. And af
terwards what joyful notice is taken of this event by the
shepherds, and by those holy persons Zacharias, and
Simeon, and Anna! How do they praise God on this
occasion ! Thus the church of God in heaven, and the
church on earth, do as it were unite in their joy and
praise on this occasion.
Notice was taken of it by the Gentiles, which appears
in the wise men of the east. Great part of the universe
does as it were take a joyful notice of the incarnation
of Christ. Heaven takes notice of it, and the inhabitants
sing for joy. This lower world, the world of mankind,
does also take notice of it in both parts of it, Jews and
Gentiles. It pleased God to put honour on his Son, by
wonderfully stirring up some of the wisest of the Gen
tiles to come a long^ journey to see and worship the Son
of God at his birth, being led by a miraculous star, signi
fying the birth of that glorious person, who is the bright
and morning star, going before, and leading them to the
very place where the young child was. Some think they
were instructed by the prophecy of Balaam, who dwelt
in the eastern parts, and foretold Christ's coming as a
star that should rise out of Jacob. Or they might be in
structed by that general expectation there was of the
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 177
Messiah's coming about that time, before spoken of,
from the notice they had of it by the prophecies the Jews
had of him in their dispersions in all parts of the world
at that time.
3. The next concomitant of the birth of Christ was
his circumcision. But this may more properly be spoken
of under another head, and so I will not insist upon it
now.
4. The next concomitant was his first coming into
the second temple, which, was his being brought thither
when an infant, on occasion of the purification of the
blessed virgin. We read, Hag. ii. 7. " The desire of all
nations shall come, and I will fill this house (or temple)
with glory." And in Mai. iii. 1. "The Lord, whom ye
seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the mes
senger of the covenant." And now was the first instance
of the fulfilment of these prophecies.
5. The last concomitant I shall mention is the scep
tre's departing from Judah in the death of Herod the
Great. The sceptre had never totally departed from Ju
dah until now. Judah's sceptre was greatly diminished
in the revolt of the ten tribes in Jeroboam's time; and
the sceptre departed from Israel or Ephraim at the time
of the captivity of the ten tribes by Shalmaneser. But
yet the sceptre remained in the tribe of Judah under the
kings of the house of David. And when the tribes of
Judah and Benjamin were carried captive by Nebuchad
nezzar, the sceptre of Judah ceased for a little while,
until the return from the captivity under Cyrus: and
then, though they were not an independent government,
as they had been before, but owed fealty to the kings of
Persia ; yet their governor was of themselves, who had
the power of life and death, and they were governed by
their own laws ; and so Judah had a lawgiver from be
tween his feet during the Persian and Grecian monar
chies. Towards the latter part of the Grecian monar
chy, the people were governed by kings of their own, of
the race of the Maccabees, for the greater part of an hun
dred years; and after that they were subdued by the
Romans. But yet the Romans suffered them to be gov
erned by their own laws, and to have a king of their
own, Herod the Great, who reigned about forty years,
and governed with proper kingly authority, only paying
homage to the Romans. But presently after Christ was
born he died, as we have an account, Matt. ii. 19. and
Archelaus succeeded him ; but was soon put down by
178 A HISTORY OF THE
the Roman Emperor ; and then the sceptre departed from
Judah. There were no more temporal kings of Judah
after that, neither had that people their governors from
the midst of themselves after that, but were ruled by a
Roman governor sent among them ; and they ceased any
more to have the power of life and death among them
selves. Hence the Jews say to Pilate, " It is not lawful
for us to put any man to death," John xviii. 31. Thus
the sceptre departed from Judah when Shiloh came.
PART II.
HAVING thus considered Christ's coming into the world,
and his taking on him our nature, to put himself in a
capacity for the purchase of redemption, I come now,
secondly, to speak of the purchase itself. — And in speak
ing of this, I would,
1. Show what is intended by the purchase of redemp
tion.
2. Observe some things in general concerning those
things by which this purchase was made.
3. I would orderly consider those things which Christ
did and suffered, by which that purchase was made.
SECTION I.
I WOULD show what is here intended by Christ's pur
chasing redemption. And there are two things that are
intended by it, viz. his satisfaction, and his merit. All is
done by the price that Christ lays down. But the price
that Christ laid down does two things: it pays our debt,
and so it satisfies: by its intrinsic value, and by the
agreement between the Father and the Son, it procures
a title for us to happiness, and so it merits. The satis
faction of Christ is to free us from misery, and the merit
of Christ is to purchase happiness for us.
The word purchase, as it is used with respect to the
purchase of Christ, is taken either more strictly or more
largely. It is oftentimes used more strictly, to signify
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 179
only the merit of Christ ; and sometimes more largely,
to signify both his satisfaction and merit. Indeed most
of the words which are used in this affair have various
significations. Thus sometimes divines use merit in this
affair for the whole price that Christ offered, both satis
factory, and also positively meritorious. And so the
word satisfaction is sometimes used, not only for his
propitiation, but also for his meritorious obedience. For
in some sense, not only suffering the penalty, but posi
tively obeying, is needful to satisfy the law. The rea
son of this various use of these terms seems to be, that
satisfaction and merit do not differ so much really as
relatively. They both consist in paying a valuable price,
a price of infinite value; but only that price, as it re
spects a debt to be paid, is called satisfaction ; and as it
respects a positive good to be obtained, is called merit.
The difference between paying a debt, and making a
positive purchase is more relative than it is essential.
He who lays down a price to pay a debt, does in some
sense make a purchase : he purchases liberty from the
obligation. And he who lays down a price to purchase
a good, does as it were make satisfaction : he satisfies
the conditional demands of him to whom he pays it.
This may suffice concerning what is meant by the pur
chase of Christ.
SECTION II.
I NOW proceed to some general observations concerning
those things by which this purchase was made. — And
here,
1. I would observe, that whatever in Christ had the
nature of satisfaction, it was by virtue of the suffering
or humiliation that was in it. But whatever had the na
ture of merit, it was by virtue of the obedience or right
eousness there was in it. The satisfaction of Christ con
sists in his answering the demands of the law on man,
which were consequent on the breach of the law. These
were answered by suffering the penalty of the law. The
merit of Christ consists in what he did to answer the de
mands of the law, which were prior to man's breach of
the law, or to fulfil what the law demanded before man
sinned, which was obedience.
The satisfaction or propitiation of Christ consists either
in his suffering evil, or his being subject to abasement.
180 A HISTORY OF THE
For Christ did not only make satisfaction by proper suf
fering, but by whatever had the nature of humiliation,
and abasement of circumstances. Thus Christ made
satisfaction for sin, by continuing under the power of
death, while he lay buried in the grave, though neither
his body nor soul properly endured any suffering after
he was dead. Whatever Christ was subject to that was
the judicial fruit of sin, had the nature of satisfaction for
sin. But not only proper suffering, but all abasement
and depression of the state and circumstances of man
kind below its primitive honour and dignity, such as his
body's remaining under death, and body and soul re
maining separate, and other things that might be men
tioned, are the judicial fruits of sin. And all that Christ
did in his state of humiliation, that had the nature of
obedience or moral virtue or goodness in it, in one re
spect or another had the nature of merit in it, and was
part of the price with which he purchased happiness for
the elect.
2. I would observe, that both Christ's satisfaction for
sin, and also his meriting happiness by his righteous
ness, were carried on through the whole time of his hu
miliation. Christ's satisfaction for sin was not only by
his last sufferings, though it was principally by them ; but
all his sufferings, and all the humiliation that he was
subject to from the first moment of his incarnation to his
resurrection, were propitiatory or satisfactory. Christ's
satisfaction was chiefly by his death, because his suffer
ings and humiliation in that were greatest. But all his
other sufferings, and all his other humiliation, all along
had the nature of satisfaction. So had the mean circum
stances in which he was born. His being born in such
a low condition, was to make satisfaction for sin. His
being born of a poor virgin, in a stable, and his being
laid in a manger; his taking the human nature upon
him in its low state, and under those infirmities brought
upon it by the fall ; his being born in the form of sinful
flesh, had the nature of satisfaction. And so all his suf
ferings in his infancy and childhood, and all that labour,
and contempt, and reproach, and temptation, and diffi
culty of any kind, or that he suffered through the whole
course of his life, was of a propitiatory and satisfactory
nature.
And so his purchase of happiness by his righteousness
was also carried on through the whole time of his hu
miliation until his resurrection ; not only in that obedi-
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 181
ence he performed through the course of his life, but
also in the obedience he performed in laying down his
life.
3. It was by the same things that Christ hath satisfied
God's justice, and also purchased eternal happiness.
This satisfaction and purchase of Christ were not only
both carried on through the whole time of Christ's hu
miliation, but they were both carried on by the same
things. He did not make satisfaction by some things
that he did, and then work out a righteousness by other
different things; but in the same acts by which he
wrought out righteousness, he also made satisfaction,
but only taken in a different relation. One and the
same act of Christ, considered with respect to the obedi
ence there was in it, was part of his righteousness, and
purchased heaven : but considered with respect to the
self denial, and difficulty, and humiliation, with which he
performed it, had the nature of satisfaction for sin, and
procured our pardon. Thus his going about doing good,
preaching the gospel, and teaching his disciples, was a
part of his righteousness, and purchase of heaven, as it
was done in obedience to the Father ; and the same was
a part of his satisfaction, as he did it with great labour,
trouble, and weariness, and under great temptations,
exposing himself hereby to reproach and contempt. So
his laying down his life had the nature of satisfaction to
God's offended justice, considered as his bearing our
punishment in our stead : but considered as an act of
obedience to God, who had given him this command,
that he should, lay down his life for sinners, it was a part
of his righteousness, and purchase of heaven, and as
much the principal part of his righteousness as it was
the principal part of his satisfaction. And so to instance
in his circumcision, what he suffered in that, had the na
ture of satisfaction : the blood that was shed in- his cir
cumcision was propitiatory blood ; but as it was a con
formity to the law of Moses, it was part of his meritori
ous righteousness. Though it was not properly the act
of his human nature, he being an infant; yet it being
what the human nature was the subject of, and being
the act of that person, it was accepted as an act of his
obedience, as our Mediator.
And so even his being born in such a low condition,
had the nature of satisfaction, by reason of the humilia
tion that was in it, and also of righteousness, as it was
the act of his person in obedience to the Father, ancj.
182 A HISTORY OF THE
what the human nature was the subject of, and what the
will of the human nature did acquiesce in, though there
was no act of the will of the human nature prior to it.
These things may suffice to have observed in the
general concerning the purchase Christ made of re
demption.
SECTION lit.
I NOW proceed to speak more particularly of those things
which Christ did, and was the subject of, during the time
of his humiliation, whereby this purchase was made. —
And the nature of the purchase of Christ, as it has been
explained, leads us to consider these things under a two
fold view, viz.
1. With respect to his righteousness, which appeared
in them.
2. With respect to the sufferings and humiliation that
he was subject to in them in our stead.
$ I. I will consider the things that passed during the
time of Christ's humiliation, with respect to the obedi
ence and righteousness that he exercised in them. And
this is subject to a threefold distribution. I shall there
fore consider his obedience,
1. With respect to the laws which he obeyed.
2. With respect to the different stages of his life in
which he performed it.
3. With respect to the virtues he exercised in his obe
dience.
I. The first distribution of the acts of Christ's right
eousness is with respect to the laws which Christ obeyed
in that "righteousness which he performed. But here it
must be observed in general, that all the precepts which
Christ obeyed may be reduced to one law, and that is
that which the apostle calls the law of works, Rom. iii.
27. Every command that Christ obeyed may be reduced
to that great and everlasting law of God that is contain
ed in the covenant of works, that eternal rule of right
which God had established between himself and man
kind. Christ came into the world to fulfil and answer
the covenant of works; that is, the covenant that is to
stand for ever as a rule of judgment; and that is the
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 183
covenant that we had broken, and that was the covenant
that must be fulfilled.
This law of works indeed includes all the laws of God
which ever have been given to mankind; for it is a gen
eral rule of the law of works, and indeed of the law of
nature, That God is to be obeyed, and 'that he must be
submitted to in whatever positive precept he is pleased
to give us. It is a rule of the law of works, That men
should obey their earthly parents : and it is certainly as
much a rule of the same law, That we should obey our
heavenly Father : and so the law of works requires obe
dience to all positive commands of God. It required
Adam's obedience to that positive command, Not to eat
of the forbidden fruit : and it required obedience of the
Jews to all the positive commands of their institution
When God commanded Jonah to arise and go to Nineveh,
the law of works required him to obey : and so it re
quired Christ's obedience to all the positive commands
which God gave him.
But, more particularly, the commands of God which
Christ obeyed, were of three kinds; they were either
such as he was subject to merely as man, or such as he
was subject to as he was a Jew, or such as he was sub
ject to purely as Mediator.
1. He obeyed those commands which he was subject
to merely as man : and they were the commands of the
moral law, which was the same with that which was
given at Mount Sinai, written in two tables of stone,
which are obligatory on mankind of all nations and all
ages of the world.
2. He obeyed all those laws he was subject to as he
was a Jew. Thus he was subject to the ceremonial law,
and was conformed to it. He was conformed to it in his
being circumcised t£e eighth day ; and he strictly obey
ed it in going up to Jerusalem to the temple three times
a year; at least after he was come to the age of twelve
years, which seems to have been the age when the males
began to go up to the temple. And so Christ constantly
attended the service of the temple, and of the syna
gogues.
To this head of his obedience to the law that he was
subject to as a Jew, may be reduced his submission to
John's baptism. For it was a special command to the
Jews, to go forth to John the Baptist, and be baptized
of him ; and therefore Christ being a Jew, was subject
to this command : and therefore, when he came to be
184 A HISTORY OF THE
baptized of John, and John objected, that he had more
need to come to him to be baptized of him. he gives this
reason for it, That it was needful that he should do it,
that he might fulfil all righteousness. See Matt. iii. 13,
14, 15.
3. Another law that Christ was subject to was the
mediatorial law, which contained those commands of
God to which he was subject, not merely as man, nor
yet as a Jew, but which related purely to his mediato
rial office. Such were the commands which the Father
gave him, to teach such doctrines, to preach the gospel,
to work such miracles, to call such disciples, to appoint
such ordinances, and finally to lay down his life : for he
did all these things in obedience to commands he had
received of the Father, as he often tells us. And these
commands he was not subject to merely as man ; for
they did not belong to other men : nor yet was he sub
ject to them as a Jew ; for they were no part of the Mo
saic law ; but they were commands that he had received
of the Father, that purely respected the work he was to
do in the world in his mediatorial office.
And it is to be observed, that Christ's righteousness,
by which he merited heaven for himself, and all who be
lieve in him, consists principally in his obedience to this
mediatorial law : for in fulfilling this law consisted his
chief work and business in the world. The history of
the evangelists is chiefly taken up in giving an account
of his obedience to this law : and this part of his obedi
ence was that which was attended with the greatest dif
ficulty of all; and therefore his obedience in it was most
meritorious. What Christ had to do in the world by
virtue of his being Mediator, was infinitely more difficult
than what he had to do merely as a man, or as a Jew.
To his obedience to this mediatorial law belongs his
going through his last sufferings, beginning with his
agony in the garden, and ending with his resurrection.
As the obedience of the first Adam, wherein his right
eousness would have consisted, if he had stood, would
have mainly consisted, not in his obedience to the moral
law, to which he was subject merely as man, but in his
obedience to that special law that he was subject to as
moral head and surety of mankind, even the command
of abstaining from the tree of knowledge of good and
evil ; so the obedience of the second Adam, wherein his
righteousness consists, lies mainly, not in his obedience
to the law that he was subject to merely as man, but to
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 185
that special law which he was subject to in his office as
Mediator and surety for man.
Before I proceed to the next distribution of Christ's
righteousness, I would observe three things concerning
Christ's obedience to these laws.
1. He performed that obedience to them which was in
every respect perfect. It was universal as to the kinds
of laws that he was subject to; he obeyed each of these
three laws ; and it was universal with respect to every
individual precept contained in these laws, and it was
perfect as to each command. It was perfect as to posi
tive transgressions avoided : for he never transgressed
in one instance ; he was guilty of no sin of commission.
And it was perfect with respect to the work command
ed: he perfected the whole work that each command
required, and never was guilty of any sin of omission.
And it was perfect with respect to the principle from
which he obeyed: his heart was perfect, his principles
were wholly right, there was no corruption in his heart.
And it was perfect with respect to the ends he acted for:
for he never had any by ends, but aimed perfectly at
such ends as the law of God required. And it was per
fect with respect to the manner of performance : every
circumstance of each act was perfectly conformed to the
command. And it was perfect with respect to the de
gree of the performance: he acted wholly up to the rule.
And it was perfect with respect to the constancy of obe
dience : he did not only perfectly obey sometimes, but
constantly without any interruption. And it was per
fect with respect to perseverance: he held out in perfect
obedience to the very end, through all the changes he
passed through, and all the trials that were before him.
The meritoriousness of Christ's obedience, depends on
the perfection of it. If it had failed in any instance of
perfection, it could not have been meritorious : for im
perfect obedience is not accepted as any obedience at
all in the sight of the law of works, which was that law
that Christ was subject to; for that is not accepted as
an obedience to a law that does not answer that law.
2. The next thing I would observe of Christ's obedi
ence is, that it was performed through the greatest trials
and temptations that ever any obedience was. His obe
dience was attended with the greatest difficulties, and
most extreme abasement and sufferings that ever any
obedience was ; which was another thing that rendered
it more meritorious and thankworthy. To obey another
10*
186 A HISTORY OP THE
when his commands are easy, is not so worthy, as it is
to obey when it cannot be done without great difficulty.
3. He performed this obedience with infinite respect
to God, and the honour of his law. The obedience he
performed was with infinitely greater love to God, and
regard to his authority, than the angels perform their
obedience with. The angels perform their obedience
with that love which is perfect, with sinless perfection :
but Christ did not. do so, but he performed his obedi
ence with much greater love than the angels do theirs,
even infinite love; for though the human nature of
Christ was not capable of love absolutely infinite, yet
Christ's obedience that was performed in that human
nature, is not to be looked upon as merely the obedience
of the human nature, but the obedience of his person, as
God-man ; and there was infinite love of the person of
Christ manifest in that obedience. And this, together
with the infinite dignity of the person that obeyed, ren
dered his obedience infinitely meritorious.
II. The second distribution of the acts of Christ's obe
dience, is with respect to the different parts of his life,
wherein they were performed. And in this respect they
may be divided into those which were performed in pri
vate life, and those which were performed in his public
ministry.
1st, Those acts he performed during his private life.
He was perfectly obedient in his childhood. He infinite
ly differed from other children, who, as soon as they be
gin to act, begin to sin and rebel. He was subject to his
earthly parents, though he was Lord of all, Luke ii. 51.
He was found about his Father's business at twelve
years of age in the temple, Luke ii. 42. He then began
that work that he had to do in fulfilment of the mediato
rial law, which the Father had given him. He continued
his private life for about thirty years, dwelling at Naza
reth in the house of his reputed father Joseph, where he
served God in a private capacity, and in following a me
chanical trade, the business of a carpenter.
2dly, Those acts which he performed during his pub
lic ministry, which began when he was about thirty
years of age, and continued for the three last years and
an half of his life. Most of the history of the evangelists
is taken up in giving an account of what passed during
these three years and an half; so is all the history of the
Evangelist Matthew, excepting the first two chapters.
So is the whole of the history of the Evangelist Mark ;
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 187
it begins and ends with it. And so also is all the gospel
of John, and all the gospel of Luke, excepting the two
first chapters ; excepting also what we find in the evan
gelists concerning the ministry of John the Baptist.
Christ's first appearing in his public ministry, is what is
often called his coming in scripture. Thus John speaks
of Christ's coming as what is yet to be, though he had
been born long before.
Concerning the public ministry of Christ, I would ob
serve the following things. 1. The forerunner of it. 2.
The manner of his first entering upon it. 3. The works
in which he was employed during the course of it ; and,
4. The manner of his finishing it.
1. The forerunner of Christ's coming in his public
ministry was John the Baptist: he came preaching re
pentance for the remission of sins, to make way for
Christ's coming, agreeable to the prophecies of him, Isa.
xl. 3, 4, 5. and Matt. iv. 5, 6. It is supposed that John
the Baptist began his ministry about three years and an
half before Christ ; so that John's ministry and Christ's
put together, made seven years, which was the last of
Daniel's weeks; and this time is intended in Dan. ix.
27. " He will confirm the covenant with many for one
week." Christ came in the midst of this week, viz. in
the beginning of the last half of it, or the last three years
and an half, as Daniel foretold, as in the verse just now
quoted : " and in the midst of the week he shall cause
the sacrifice and the oblation to cease."
John Baptist's ministry consisted principally in preach
ing the law, to awaken men and convince them of sin,
to prepare men for the coming of Christ, to comfort
them, as the law is to prepare the heart for the entertain
ment of the gospel.
A very remarkable outpouring of the Spirit of God
attended John's ministry ; and the effect of it was that
Jerusalem, and all Judea, and all the region round about
Jordan, were awakened, convinced, went out to him,
and submitted to his baptism, confessing their sins.
John is spoken of as the greatest of all the prophets who
came before Christ: Matt. xi. 11. "Among those that
are born of women, there hath not risen a greater than
John the Baptist ;" i. e. he had the most honourable of
fice. He was as the morning star, which is the harbin
ger of the approaching day, and forerunner of the rising
sun. The other prophets were stars that were to give
light in the night ; but we have heard how those stars
188 A HISTORY OF THE
went out on the approach of the gospel day. But now
the coming of Christ being very nigh, the morning star
comes before him, the brightest of all the stars, as John
the Baptist was the greatest of all the prophets.
And when Christ came in his public ministry, the light
of that morning star decreased too; as we see, when the
sun rises, it diminishes the light of the morning star.
So John the Baptist says of himself, John iii. 30. "He
must increase, but I must decrease." And soon after
Christ began his public ministry, John the Baptist was
put to death : as the morning star is visible a little while
after the sun is risen, yet soon goes out.
2. The next thing to be taken notice of is Christ's en
trance on his public ministry, which was by baptism,
followed with the temptation in the wilderness. His
baptism was as it were his solemn inauguration, by
which he entered on his ministry; and was attended
with his being anointed with the Holy Ghost, in a solemn
and visible manner, the Holy Ghost descending upon
him in a visible shape like a dove, attended with a voice
from heaven, saying, " This is my beloved Son, in whom I
am well pleased," Matt. iii. 16, 17.
After this he was led by the devil into the wilderness.
Satan made a violent onset upon him at his first en
trance on his work ; and now he had a remarkable trial
of his obedience; but he got the victory. He who had
such success with the first Adam, had none with the
second.
3. I would take notice of the work in which Christ
was employed during his ministry. And here are three
things chiefly to be taken notice of, viz. his preaching,
his working miracles, and his calling and appointing
disciples and ministers of his kingdom.
(1.) His preaching the gospel. Great part of the work
of his public ministry consisted in this; and much of that
obedience by which he purchased salvation for us, was
in his speaking those things which the Father command-
?d him. He more clearly and abundantly revealed the
mind and will of God, than ever it had been revealed be
fore. He came from the bosom of the Father, and per
fectly knew his mind, and was in the best capacity to
reveal it. As the sun, as soon as it is risen, begins to
shine ; so Christ, as soon as he came into his public min
istry, began to enlighten the world with his doctrine.
As the law was given at Mount Sinai, so Christ deliver
ed his evangelical doctrine, full of blessings, and not
WORK OP REDEMPTION. 189
curses, to a multitude on a mountain, as we have an ac
count in the 5th, 6th, and 7th chapters of Matthew.
When he preached, he did not teach as the scribes,
but he taught as one having authority; so that his hear
ers were astonished at his doctrine. He did not reveal
the mind and will of God in the style which the prophets
used to preach, as not speaking their own words, but
the words of another; and used to speak in such a style
as this, "Thus saith the Lord;" but Christ, in such a
style as this, "I say unto you," thus or thus; "Verily,
verily, I say unto you." He delivered his doctrines, not
only as the doctrines of God the Father, but as his own
doctrines. He gave forth his commands, not as the pro
phets were wont to do, as God's commands, but as his
own commands. He spake in such a style as this, " This
is my commandment," John xv. 12. " Ye are my friends,
if ye do whatsoever I command you," ibid. 14.
(2.) Another thing that Christ was employed in during
the course of his ministry, was working miracles. Con
cerning which we may observe several things.
Their multitude. Besides particular instances, we
often have an account of multitudes coming at once with
diseases, and his healing them.
They were works of mercy. In them was disp^yed
not only his infinite power and greatness, but his infinite
mercy and goodness. He went about doing good, heal
ing the sick, restoring sight to the blind, hearing to the
deaf, and the proper use of their limbs to the lame and
halt; feeding the hungry, cleansing the leprous, and
raising the dead.
They were almost all of them such as had been spoken
of as the peculiar works of God, in the Old Testament.
So with respect to stilling the sea, Psa. cvii. 29. " He
maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are
still." So as to walking on the sea in a storm : Job ix.
8. " Which alone — treadeth upon the waves of the sea."
So as to casting out devils : Psa. Ixxiv. 14. " Thou break-
est the heads of leviathan in pieces." So as to feeding a
multitude in a wilderness: Deut. viii. 16. " Who fed thee
in the wilderness with manna." So as to telling man's
thoughts: Amos iv. 13. " Lo, he that— declareth unto
man what is his thought — the Lord, the God of hosts is
his name." So as to raising the dead: Psa. Ixviii. 20.
"Unto God the Lord belong the issues from death." So
as to opening the eyes of the blind : Psa. cxlvi. 8. " Tho
Lord openeth the eyes of the blind.' So as to healing
190 A HISTORY OF THE
the sick : Psa. ciii. 3. " Who healeth all thy diseases."
So as to lifting up those who are bowed together: Psa.
cxlvi. 8. " The Lord raiseth them that are bowed down."
They were in general such works as were images of
the great work which he came to work on man's heart ;
representing that inward, spiritual cleansing, healing,
renovation, and resurrection, which all his redeemed are
the subjects of.
He wrought them in such a manner as to show, that
he did them by his own power, and not by the power of
another, as the other prophets did. They were wont to
work all their miracles in the name of the Lord ; but Christ
wrought in his own name. Moses was forbidden to
enter into Canaan, because he seemed by his speech to
assume the honour of working only one miracle to him
self. Nor did Christ work miracles as the apostles did,
who wrought them all in the name of Christ ; but he
wrought them in his own name, and by his own au
thority and will: thus, saith he, "I will, be thou clean,"
Matt. viii. 3. And in the same strain he put the ques
tion, " Believe ye that I am able to do this?" Matt. ix. 28.
(3.) Another thing that Christ did in the course of his
ministry, was to call his disciples. He called many dis
ciples. There wrere many that he employed as minis
ters ; he sent seventy disciples at one time in this work:
out there were twelve that he set apart as apostles, who
were the grand ministers of his kingdom, and as it were
the twelve foundations of his church. See Rev. xxi. 14.
These were the main instruments of setting up his king
dom in the world, and therefore shall sit on twelve
thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
4. I would observe how he finished his ministry. — And
this was,
(1.) In giving his dying counsels to his disciples, and
all that should be his disciples, which we have recorded
particularly in the 14th, 15th, and 16th chapters of John's
gospel.
(2.) In instituting a solemn memorial of his death.
This he did in instituting the sacrament of the Lord's
supper, wherein we have a representation of his body
broken, and of his blood shed.
(3.) In offering up himself, as God's high priest, a sac
rifice to God, which he did in his last sufferings. This
acthed/i as God's minister, as God's anointed priest ;
it • is the greatest act of his public ministry, the
t' act of his obedience, by which he purchased
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 191
heaven for believers. The priests of old used to do
many other things as God's ministers; but then were
they in the highest execution of their office when they
were actually offering sacrifice on the altar. So the
greatest thing that Christ did in the execution of his
priestly office, and the greatest thing that he ever did,
and the greatest thing that ever was done, was the of
fering up himself a sacrifice to God. Herein he was the
antitype of all that had been done by all the priests, and
in all their sacrifices and offerings, from the beginning
of the world.
III. The third distribution of the acts by which Christ
purchased redemption, regards the virtues that Christ
exercised and manifested in them. And here I would
observe, that Christ, in doing the work that he had to do
here in the world for our redemption, exercised every
possible virtue and grace. Indeed there are some par
ticular virtues that sinful man may have, that were not
in Christ; not from any want or defect of virtue, but be
cause his virtue was perfect and without defect. Such
is the virtue of repentance, and brokenness of heart for
sin, and mortification, and denying of lust. Those vir
tues were not in Christ, because he had no sin of his
own to repent of, nor any lust to deny. But all virtues
which do not presuppose sin, were in him, and that in a
higher degree than ever they were in any other man, or
any mere creature. Every virtue in him was perfect.
Virtue itself was greater in him than in any other; and
it was under greater advantages to shine in him than in
any other. Strict virtue shines most when most tried:
but never any virtue had such trials as Christ's had.
The virtue that Christ exercised in the work he did,
may be divided into three sorts, viz. the virtues which
more immediately respect God, those which immediately
respect himself, and those which immediately respect
men.
1. Those virtues which more immediately respect God,
appeared in Christ in the work that he did for our re
demption. There appeared in him an holy fear and re
verence towards God the Father. Christ had a greater
trial of his virtue in this respect than any other had, from
the honourableness of his person. This was the tempta
tion of the angels that fell, to cast off their worship of
God, and reverence of his majesty, that they were be
ings of such exalted dignity and worthiness themselves.
But Christ was infinitely more worthy and honourable
192 A HISTORY OF THE
than they; for he was the eternal Son of God, and his
person was equal to the person of God the Father: and
yet, as he had taken on him the office of Mediator, and
the nature of man, he was full of reverence towards God.
He had ordered him in the most reverential manner time
after time. So he manifested a wonderful love towards
God. The angels give great testimonies of their love
towards God, in their constancy and agility in doing the
will of God ; and many saints have given great testimo
nies of their love, who, from love to God, have endured
great labours and sufferings: but none ever gave such
testimonies of love to God as Christ has given; none
ever performed such a labour of love as he, and suffered
so much from love to God. So he manifested the most
wonderful submission to the will of God. Never was
any one's submission so tried as his was. So he mani
fested the most wonderful spirit of obedience that ever
was manifested.
2. In this work he most wonderfully manifested those
virtues which more immediately respected himself; as
particularly humility, patience, and contempt of the
world. Christ, though he was the most excellent and
honourable of all men, yet was the most humble; yea,
he was the most humble of all creatures. No angel or
man ever equalled him in humility, though he was the
highest of all creatures in dignity and honourableness.
Christ would have been under the greatest temptations
to pride, if it had been possible for any thing to be a
temptation to him. The temptation of the angels that
fell was the dignity of their nature, and the honourable-
ness of their circumstances; but Christ was infinitely
more honourable than they. The human nature of
Christ was so honoured as to be in the same person with
the eternal Son of God, who was equal with God ; and
yet that human nature was not at all lifted up with pride.
Nor was the man Christ Jesus at all lifted up with pride
with all those wonderful works which he wrought, of
healing the sick, curing the blind, lame, and maimed,
and raising the dead. And though he knew that God
had appointed him to be the king over heaven and earth,
angels and men, as he says, Matt. xi. 27. "All things are
delivered unto me of my Father;" though he knew he
was such an infinitely honourable person, and thought
it not robbery to be equal with God ; and though he
knew he was the heir of God the Father's kingdom :
yet such was his humility, that he did not disdain to be
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 193
abased and depressed down into lower and viler circum
stances and sufferings than ever any other elect crea
ture was; so that he became least of all, and lowest of
all. The proper trial and evidence of humility, is stoop
ing or complying with those acts or circumstances, when
called to it, which are very low, and contain great abase
ment. But none ever stooped so low as Christ, if we
consider either the infinite height that he stooped from,
or the great depth to which he stooped. Such was his
humility, that though he knew his infinite worthiness of
honour, and of being honoured ten thousand times as
much as the highest prince on earth, or angel in hea
ven ; yet he did not think it too much when called to it,
to be bound as a cursed malefactor, and to become the
laughing-stock and spitting-stock of the vilest of men, and
to be crowned with thorns, and to have a mock robe put
upon him, and to be crucified like a slave and malefac
tor, and as one of the meanest and worst of vagabonds
and miscreants, and an accursed enemy of God and men,
who was not fit to live on the earth ; and this not for
himself, but for some of the meanest and vilest of crea
tures, some of those accursed wretches that crucified
him. Was not this a wonderful manifestation of humil
ity, when he cheerfully and most freely submitted to this
abasement?
And, how did his patience shine forth under all the
terrible sufferings which he endured, when he was
dumb, and opened not his mouth, but went as a lamb to
the slaughter, and was like a patient lamb under all the
sufferings he endured from first to last !
And, what contempt of the glory of this world was
there, when he rather chose this contempt, and mean
ness, and suffering, than to wear a temporal crown, and
be invested with the external glories of an earthly prince,
as the multitude often solicited him !
3. Christ, in the work which he wrought out, in a
wonderful manner exercised those virtues which more
immediately respect other men. And these may be
summed up under two heads, viz. meekness, and love.
Christ's meekness was his humble calmness of spirit
under the provocations that he met with. None ever
met with so great provocations as he did. The great
ness of provocation lies in two things, viz. in the degree
of opposition by which the provocation is given ; and,
secondly, in the degree of the unreasonableness of that
opposition, or in its being very causeless, and without
194 A HISTORY OP THE
reason, and the great degree of obligation to the con
trary. Now, if we consider both these things, no man
ever met with such provocations as Christ did, when he
was upon earth. If we consider how much he was hated,
what abuses he suffered from the vilest of men, how
great his sufferings from men were, and how spiteful
and how contemptuous they were, in offering him these
abuses; and also consider how causeless and unreason
able these abuses were, how undeserving he was of them,
and how much deserving of the contrary, viz. of love,
and honour, and good treatment at their hands: I say,
if we consider these things, no man ever met with a
thousandth part of the provocation that Christ met with
from men : and yet how meek was he under all ! how
composed and quiet his spirit ! how far from being in a
ruffle and tumult ! When he was reviled, he reviled not
again ; and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so
he opened not his mouth. No appearance was there of
a revengeful spirit: on the contrary, what a spirit of for
giveness did he exhibit ! so that he fervently and effect
ually prayed for their forgiveness, when they were in the
highest act of provocation that ever they perpetrated,
viz. nailing him to the cross: Luke xxiii. 34. "Father,
forgive them, for they know not what they do."
And never did there appear such an instance of love
to men. Christ's love to men that he showed when on
earth, and especially in going through his last sufferings,
and offering up his life and soul under those sufferings,
which was his greatest act of love, was far beyond all
parallel. There have been very remarkable manifestations
of love in some of the saints, as in the Apostle Paul, the
Apostle John, and others : but the love to men that Christ
showed when on earth, as much exceeded the love of all
other men, as the ocean exceeds a small stream.
And it is to be observed, that all the virtues which ap
peared in Christ shone brightest in the close of his life,
under the trials he met with then. Eminent virtue al
ways shows brightest in the fire. Pure gold shows its
purity chiefly in the furnace. It was chiefly under those
trials which Christ underwent in the close of his life, that
his love to God, his honour of God's majesty, and his re
gard to the honour of his law, and his spirit of obedience,
and his humility, and contempt of the world, and his
patience, and his meekness, and his spirit of forgiveness
towards men, appeared. Indeed every thing that Christ
did to work out redemption for us appears mainly in the
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 195
close of his life. Here mainly is his satisfaction for sin,
and here chiefly is his merit of eternal life for sinners,
and here chiefly appears the brightness of his example,
which he hath set us to follow.
Thus we have taken a brief view of the things where
by the purchase of redemption was made with respect
to his righteousness that appeared in them.— I proceed
now,
§ II. To take a view of them with respect to the satis
faction that he thereby made for sin, or the sufferings
and humiliation that he was the subject of in them on
our account. And here,
I. He was subject to uncommon humiliation and suf
ferings in his infancy. He was born to that end that he
might die ; and therefore he did as it were begin to die
as soon as he was born. His mother suffered in an un
common manner in bearing him. When her travail
came upon her, it is said, " there was no room in the
inn," Luke ii. 7. She was forced to betake herself to a
stable ; and therefore Christ was born in the place of the
bringing forth of beasts. Thus he suffered in his birth,
as though he had been meaner and viler than a man, and
not possessed of the dignity of the human nature, but
had been of the rank of the brute creatures. And we
may conclude, that his mother's circumstances in other
respects were proportionably strait and difficult, and
that she was destitute of the conveniences necessary for
so young an infant which others were wont to have;
for want of which the new born babe without doubt suf
fered much.
And besides, he was persecuted in his infancy. They
began to seek his life as soon as he was born. Herod,
the chief man of the land, was so engaged to kill him,
that, in order to it, he killed all the children in Bethle
hem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old
and under. And Christ suffered banishment in his in
fancy, was driven out of his native country into Egypt;
and without doubt suffered much by being carried so
long a journey, when he was so young, into a strange
country.
II. Christ was subject to great humiliation in his pri
vate life at Nazareth. He there led a servile obscure
life, in a mean laborious occupation : for he is called not
only the carpenter's son, but the carpenter: Mark vi. 3.
" Is not this the carpenter, the brother of James, and Jo-
196 A HISTORY OF THE
ses, and Juda, and Simon 7" He, by hard labour, earned
his bread before he ate it, and so suffered that curse
which God pronounced on Adam, Gen. iii. 13. "In the
sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread." Let us consider
how great a degree of humiliation the glorious Son of
God, the creator of heaven and earth, was subject to in
this, that for about thirty years he should live a private
obscure life among labouring men, and all this while be
overlooked, and not taken notice of in the world, as more
than other common labourers. Christ's humiliation in
some respects was greater in private life than in the time
of his public ministry. There were many manifestations
of his glory in the word he preached, and the great mira
cles he wrought : but the first thirty years of his life he
spent among mean ordinary men, as it were in silence,
without those manifestations of his glory, or any thing
to make him to be taken notice of more than any ordi
nary mechanic, but only the spotless purity and eminent
holiness of his life; and that was in a great measure hid
in obscurity ; so that he was little taken notice of until
after his baptism.
III. Christ was the subject of great humiliation and
suffering during his public life, from his baptism until the
night wherein he was betrayed. As particularly,
1. He suffered great poverty, so that he had not
" where to lay his head," Matt. viii. 20. and commonly
used to lodge abroad in the open air, for want of a shelter
to betake himself to; as you will see is manifest, if you
compare the following places together, which I shall
but name to you, even Matt. viii. 20. and John xviii. 1,
2. and Luke xxi. 37. and ch. xxii. 39. So that what was
spoken of Christ in Cant. v. 2. " My head is filled with
dew, and my locks with the drops of the night," was
literally fulfilled. And through his poverty he doubtless
was often pinched with hunger, and thirst, and cold.
We read Matt. iv. 2. that he was an hungered : and so
again in Matt. xxi. 18. His mother and natural relations
were poor, and not able to help him ; and he was main
tained by the charity of some of his disciples while he
lived. So we read in Luke viii. at the beginning, of cer
tain women that followed him, and ministered to him of
their substance. He was so poor, that he was not able
to pay the tribute that was demanded of him, without
tne miraculous coming of a fish to bring him the money
out of the sea in his mouth. See Matt. xvii. 27. And
when he ate at his last passover, it was not at his own
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 197
charge, but at the charge of another, as appears by Luke
xxii. 7. &c. And from his poverty he had no grave of
his own to be buried in. It was the manner of the Jews,
unless they were very poor, and were not able, to pre
pare themselves a sepulchre while they lived. But
Christ had no land of his own, though he was possessor
of heaven and earth ; and therefore was buried by Joseph
of Arimathea's charity, and in his tomb, which he had
prepared for himself.
2. He suffered great hatred and reproach. He was
despised and rejected of men. He was by most esteem
ed a poor insignificant person ; one of little account,
slighted for his low parentage, and his mean city Naza
reth. He was reproached as a glutton and drunkard, a
friend of publicans and sinners ; was called a deceiver
of the people; sometimes was called a madman, and a
Samaritan, and one possessed with a devil, John vii. 20.
and viii. 48. and x. 20. He was called a blasphemer, and
was accounted by many a wizard, or one that wrought
miracles by the black art, and by communication with
Beelzebub. They excommunicated him, and agreed to
excommunicate any man that should own him, as John
ix. 22. They wished him dead, and were continually
seeking to murder him; sometimes by force, and some
times by craft. They often took up stones to stone him,
and once led him to the brow of a hill, intending to throw
him down the precipice, to dash him in pieces against
the rocks.
He was thus hated and reproached by his own visible
people: John i. 11. "He came to his own, and his own
received him not." And he was principally despised
and hated by those who were in chief repute, and were
their greatest men. And the hatred wherewith he was
hated was general. Into whatever part of the land he
went, he met with hatred and contempt. He met with
these in Capernaum, and when he went to Jericho, when
he went to Jerusalem, which was the holy city, when he
went to the temple to worship, and also in Nazareth, his
own city, and among his own relations, and his old
neighbours.
3. He suffered the btiffetings of Satan in an uncommon
manner. We read of one time in particular, when he
had a long conflict with the devil, when he was in the
wilderness forty days, with nothing but wild beasts and
devils ; and was so exposed to the devil's power, that he
17*
198 A HISTORY OF THE
was bodily carried about by him from place to place,
while he was otherwise in a very suffering state.
And so much for the humiliation and suffering of
Christ's public life, from his baptism to the night wherein
be was betrayed.
IV. I come now to his last humiliation and sufferings,
from the evening of the night wherein he was betrayed
to his resurrection. And here was his greatest humilia
tion and suffering, by which principally he made satis
faction to the justice of God for the sins of men. First,
his life was sold by one of his own disciples for thirty
pieces of silver, which was the price of the life of a ser
vant, as you may see in Exod. xxi. 32. Then he was in
that dreadful agony in the garden. There came such a
dismal gloom upon his soul, that he began to be sorrow
ful and very heavy, and said, his " soul was exceeding
sorrowful, even unto death, and was sore amazed." So
violent was the agony of his soul, as to force the blood
through the pores" of his skin; so that while his soul was
overwhelmed with amazing sorrow, his body was all
clotted with blood. The disciples, who used to be as his
friends and family, at this time, above all, appeared cold
towards him, and unconcerned for him, at the same time
that his Father's face was hid from him. Judas, to whom
Christ had been so very merciful, and treated as one of
his family, or familiar friends, comes and betrays him in
the most deceitful, treacherous manner. The officers
and soldiers apprehend and bind him; his disciples for
sake him, and flee; his own best friends do not stand by
him to comfort him, in this time of his distress. He is
led away as a malefactor to appear before the priests
and scribes, his venomous, mortal enemies, that they
might sit as his judges, who sat up all night, to have the
pleasure of insulting him, now they had got him into their
hands. But because they aimed at nothing short of his
life, they set themselves to find some colour to put him
to death, arid seek for witnesses against him. When
none appeared, they set some to bear false witness; and
when their witness did not agree together, then they go
to examining him, to catch something out of his own
mouth. They hoped, he would say, that he was the
Son of God, and then they thought they should have
enough. But because they see they are not like to ob
tain it without it, they then go to force him to say it, by
adjuring him in the name of God, to say whether he was
or not : and when he confessed that he was, then they
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 1U9
supposed they had enough ; and then it was a time of
rejoicing with them, which they show, by falling upon
Christ, and spitting in his face, and blindfolding him, and
striking him in the face with the palms of their hands,
and then bidding him prophesy who it was that struck
him ; thus ridiculing him for pretending to be a prophet.
And the very servants have a hand in the sport : Mark
xiv. 65. " And the servants did strike him with the palms
of their hands."
During the sufferings of that night, Peter, one of the
chief of his own disciples, instead of standing by him to
comfort him, appears ashamed to own him, and denies
and renounces him with oaths and curses. And after the
chief priests and elders had finished the night in so
shamefully abusing him, when the morning was come,
which was the morning of the most wonderful day that
ever was, they led him away to Pilate, to be conde'mned
to death by him, because they had not the power of life
and death in their own hands. He is brought before
Pilate's judgment seat, and there the priests and elders
accuse him as a traitor. And when Pilate, upon exam
ining into the matter, declared he found no fault in him,
the Jews were but the more fierce and violent to have
him condemned. Upon which Pilate, after clearing him,
very unjustly brings him upon a second trial ; and then
not finding any thing against him, acquits him again.
Pilate treats him as a poor worthless fellow; but is
ashamed on so little pretence to condemn him as a
traitor.
And then he was sent to Herod to be tried by him,
and was brought before Herod's judgment seat; and his
enemies followed, and virulently accused him before
Herod Herod does not condemn him as a traitor, 01
one that would set up for a king, but looks upon him as
Pilate did, as a poor worthless creature, not worthy to
be taken notice of, and does but make a mere laugh of
the Jews' accusing him as a dangerous person to Ca3sar,
as one that was in danger of setting up to be a king
against him ; and therefore, in derision, dresses him up
in a mock robe, and makes sport of him, and sends him
back through the streets of Jerusalem to Pilate, with the
mock robe on.
Then the Jews prefer Barabbas before him, and are
instant and violent with loud voices to Pilate, to crucify
him. So Pilate, after he had cleared him twice, and
Herod once, very unrighteously brings him on trial the
200 A HISTORY OP THE
third time, to try if he could not find something against
him sufficient to crucify him. Christ was stripped and
scourged : thus he gave his back to the smiter. After
that, though Pilate still declared that he found no fault in
him ; yet so unjust was he, that for fear of the Jews he
delivered Christ to be crucified. But before they exe
cute the sentence, his spiteful and cruel enemies take the
pleasure of another spell of mocking him ; they get round
him, and make a set business of it. They stripped him,
and put on him a scarlet robe, and a reed in his hand,
and a crown of thorns on his head. Both Jews and Ro
man soldiers were united in the transaction ; they bow
the knee before him, and in derision cry, " Hail, king of
the Jews !" They spit upon him also, and take the reed
out of his hand, and smite him on the head. After this,
they led him away to crucify him, and made him carry
his own cross, until he sunk under it, his strength being
spent ; and then they laid it on one Simon a Cyrenian.
At length, being come to Mount Calvary, they execute
the sentence which Pilate had so unrighteously pro
nounced. They nail him to his cross by his hands and
feet, then raise it erect, and fix one end in the ground,
he being still suspended on it by the nails which pierced
his hands and feet. And now Christ's sufferings are
come to the extremity : now the cup, which he so earn
estly prayed that it might pass from him, is come, and
he must, he does drink it. In those days crucifixion was
the most tormenting kind of death by which any were
wont to be executed. There was no death wherein the
person expired so much of mere torment: and hence the
Roman word, which signifies torment, is taken from this
kind of death.— And besides what our Lord endured in
this excruciating death in his body, he endured vastly
more in his soul. Now was that travail of his soul, of
which we read in the prophet ; now it pleased God to
bruise him, and to put him to grief; now he poured out
his soul unto death, as in Isa. liii. And if the mere fore
thought of this cup made him sweat blood, how much
more dreadful and excruciating must the drinking of it
have been ! Many martyrs have endured much in their
bodies, while their souls have been joyful, and have sung
for joy, whereby they have been supported under the suf
ferings of their outward man, and have triumphed over
them. But this was not the case with Christ ; he had no
such support ; but his sufferings were chiefly those of
the mind, though the other were extremely great. In
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 201
his crucifixion Christ did not sweat Wood, as he had be
fore, because his blood had vent otherwise, and not be
cause his agony was now not so great. But though he
did not sweat blood, yet such was the suffering of his
soul, that probably it rent his vitals ; as seems probable
by this, that when his side was pierced, there came forth
blood and water. And so here was a kind of literal ful
filment of that in Psa. xxii. 14. "I am poured out like
water :— my heart is like wax, it is melted in the midst
of my bowels."
Now, under all these sufferings, the Jews still mock
him; and wagging their heads say, "Thou that destroy-
est the temple, and buildest it in three days, save thy
self: if thou be the Son of God, come down from the
cross." And even the chief priests, scribes, and elders,
joined in the cry, saying, " He saved others, himself he
cannot save." And probably the devil at the same time
tormented him to the utmost of his power ; and hence it
is said, Luke xxii. 53. " This is your hour, and the power
of darkness."
Under these sufferings, Christ having cried out once
and again with a loud voice, at last he said, " It is finish
ed," (John xix. 30.) " and bowed the head, and gave up
the ghost." And thus was finished the greatest and
most wonderful thing that ever was done. Now the
angels beheld the most wonderful sight that ever they
saw. Now was accomplished the main thing that had
been pointed at by the various institutions of the cere
monial law, and by all the typical dispensations, and by
all the sacrifices from the beginning of the world.
Christ being thus brought under the power of death,
continued under it until the morning of next day but
one; and then was finished that great work, the pur
chase of our redemption, for which such great preparation
had been made from the beginning of the world. Then
was finished all that was required in order to satisfy the
threatenings of the law, and all that was necessary in
order to satisfy divine justice; then the utmost that vin
dictive justice demanded, even the whole debt was paid.
Then was finished the whole of the purchase of eternal
life. And now there is no need of any thing more to be
done towards a purchase of salvation for sinners; nor
has ever any thing been done since, nor will any thing
more be done for ever and ever.
202 A HISTORY OF THE
IMPROVEMENT.
IN surveying the history of redemption, from the fall of
man to the end of the world, we have now shown how
this work was carried on through the two former of the
three main periods into which this whole space of time
was divided, viz. from the fall to the incarnation of
Christ, and from thence to the end of the time of Christ's
humiliation ; and have particularly explained how in the
first of these periods God prepared the way for Christ's
appearing and purchasing redemption ; and how, in the
second period, that purchase was made and finished. I
would now make some improvement of what has been
said on both these subjects considered conjunctly. — And
this I would do,
1. In a use of reproof.
2. In a use of encouragement.
SECTION I.
I BEGIN with a use of reproof; a reproof of three things:
1. Of unbelief.
2. Of self righteousness.
3. Of a careless neglect of the salvation of Christ.
I. If it be as we have heard, how greatly do these
things reprove those who do not believe in, but reject
the Lord Jesus Christ ! i. e. all those who do not heartily
receive him. Persons may receive him in profession,
and carry well outwardly towards him, and may wish
that they had some of those benefits that Christ has pur
chased, and yet their hearts not receive Christ ; they may
be hearty in nothing that they do towards Christ ; they
may have no high esteem of Christ, nor any sincere hon
our or respect to Christ ; they may never have opened
the door of their heart to Christ, but have kept him shut
out all their days, ever since they first heard of Christ,
and his salvation has been offered to them. Though
their hearts have been opened to others, their doors have
been flung wide open to them, and they have had free
admittance at all times, and have been embraced and
made much of, and the best room in their hearts has
been given them, and the throne of their hearts has been
allowed them; yet Christ has always been shut out, and
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 203
they have been deaf to all his knocks and calls. They
never could find an inclination of heart to receive him,
nor would they ever trust in him.
Let me now call upon you with whom it is thus, to
consider how great your sin, in thus rejecting Jesus
Christ, appears to be from those things that have been
said. You slight the glorious person, for whose coming
God made such great preparation in such a series of
wonderful providences from the beginning of the world,
and whom, after all things were made ready, God sent
into the world, bringing to pass a thing before unknown,
viz. the union of the divine nature with the human in
one person. You have been guilty of slighting that
great Saviour, who, after such preparation, actually ac
complished the purchase of redemption ; and who, after
he had spent three or four and thirty years in poverty,
labour, and contempt, in purchasing redemption, at last
finished the purchase by closing his life under such ex
treme sufferings as you have heard ; and so by his death,
and continuing for a time under the power of death,
completed the whole. This is the person you reject and
despise. You make light of all the glory of his person,
and of all the glorious love of God the Father, in sending
him into the world, and all his wonderful love appearing
in the whole of this affair. That precious stone that God
hath laid in Zion for a foundation in such a manner, and
by such wonderful works as you have heard, is a stone
set at nought by you.
Sinners sometimes are ready to wonder why the sin
of unbelief should be looked upon as such a great sin :
but if you consider what you have heard, how can you
wonder] If it be so, that this Saviour is so great a Sa
viour, and this work so great a work, and such great
things have been done in order to it, truly there is no
cause of wonder that the sin of unbelief, or the rejection
of this Saviour, is spoken of in scripture as such a dread
ful sin, so provoking to God, and what brings greater
guilt than the sins of the worst of the heathen, who never
heard of those things, nor have had this Saviour offered
to them.
II. What has been said, affords matter of reproof to
those who, instead of believing in Christ, trust in them
selves for salvation. It is a common thing with men to
take it upon themselves to purchase salvation for them
selves, and so to do that great work which Christ came
into the world to do. Are there none such here who
204 A HISTORY OF THE
trust in their prayers, and their good conversations, and
the pains they take in religion, and the reformation of
their lives, and in their self denial, to recommend them
to God, to make some atonement for their past sins, and
to draw the heart of God to them]
Consider three things :
1. How great a thing that is which you take upon
you. You take upon you to do the work of the great
Saviour of the world. You trust in your own doings to
appease God for your sins, and to incline the heart of
God to you. Though you are poor, worthless, vile, pol
luted worms of the dust; yet so arrogant are you, that
you take upon you that very work, that the only begot
ten Son of God did when upon earth, and that he became
man to capacitate himself for, and in order to which God
spent four thousand years in all the great dispensations
of his providence in the government of the world, aiming
chiefly at this, to make way for Christ's coming to do this
work. This is the work that you take upon yourself,
and foolishly think yourself sufficient for it ; as though
your prayers, and other performances were excellent
enough for this purpose. Consider how vain is the
thought which you entertain of yourself. How must
such arrogance appear in the sight of Christ, whom it
cost so much to make a purchase of salvation, when it
was not to be obtained even by him, so great and glori
ous a person, at a cheaper rate than his wading through
a sea of blood, and passing through the midst of the
furnace of God's wrath ! And how vain must your arro
gance appear in the sight of God, when he sees you im
agining yourself sufficient, and your worthless, polluted
performances excellent enough for the accomplishing of
that work of his own Son, to prepare the way for which
he was employed in ordering all the great affairs of the
world for so many ages !
2. If there be ground for you to trust, as you do, in
your own righteousness, then all that Christ did to pur
chase salvation when on earth, and all that God did
from the first fall of man to that time to prepare the way
for it, is in vain. Your self righteousness charges God
with the greatest folly, as though he has done all things
in vain, even so much in vain, that he has done all this to
bring about an accomplishment of that which you alone,
a little worm, with your poor polluted prayers, and the
little pains you take in religion, mingled with all that
hypocnsy and filthiness, are^sufficient to accomplish for
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 205
yourself without Christ's help. For if you can appease
God's anger, and can commend yourself to God by these
means, then you have no need of Christ ; but he is dead
in vain: Gal. ii. 21. "If righteousness come by the law,
then Christ is dead in vain."
If you can do this by your prayers and good works,
Christ might have spared his pains; he might have
spared his blood; he might have kept within the bosom
of his Father, without coming down into this evil world
to be despised, reproached, and persecuted to death;
and God needed not have busied himself, as he did for
four thousand years together, causing so many changes
in the state of the world all that while, in order to the
bringing about that which you, little as you are, can
accomplish in a few days, only with the trouble of a few
sighs, and groans, and prayers, and some other religious
performances. Consider with yourself what greater
folly could you have devised to charge upon God than
this, to do all those things before and after Christ came
into the world so needlessly ; when, instead of all this,
he might have called you forth, and committed the busi
ness to you, which you think you can do so easily.
Alas ! how blind are natural men ! how sottish are the
thoughts they have of things ! and especially how vain
are the thoughts which they have of themselves ! How
ignorant of their own littleness and pollution ! How do
they exalt themselves up to heaven ! What great things
do they assume to themselves !
3. You that trust to your own righteousness, arrogate
to yourselves the honour of the greatest thing that ever
God himself did; not only as if you were sufficient to
perform divine works, and to accomplish some of the
great works of God ; but such is your pride and vanity,
that you are not content without taking upon you to do
the very greatest work that ever God himself wrought,
even the work of redemption. You see by what has
been said, how God has subordinated all his other works
to this work of redemption. You see how God's works
of providence are greater than his works of creation,
and that all God's works of providence, from the begin
ning of the generations of men, were in order to this, to
make way for the purchasing of redemption. But this
is what you take upon yourself. To take on yourself to
work out redemption, is a greater thing than if you had
taken it upon you to create a world. Consider with
yourself what a figure you a poor worm would make,
18
206 A HISTORY OF THE
if you should seriously go about to create such a world
as God did, should swell in your own conceit of your
self, should deck yourself with majesty, pretend to speak
the word of power, and call a universe out of nothing,
intending to go on in order, and say, " Let there be light ;
Let there be a firmament," &c. But then consider, that
in attempting to work out redemption yourself, you at
tempt a greater thing than this, and are serious in it,
and will not be beat off from it, but strive in it, and are
full of the thought of yourself that you are sufficient for
it, and always big with hopes of accomplishing it.
You take upon you to do the very greatest and most
difficult part of this work, viz. to purchase redemption.
Christ can accomplish other parts of this work without
cost, without any trouble and difficulty: but this part
cost him his life, as well as innumerable pains and la
bours, with very great ignominy and contempt besides.
Yet this is that part which self righteous persons go
about to accomplish for themselves. If all the angels in
heaven had been sufficient for this work, would God
have set himself to effect such things as he did in order
to it, before he sent his Son into the world ] And, would
he ever have sent his own Son, the great Creator and
God of the angels, into the world, to have done and suf
fered such things 1
What self righteous persons take to themselves, is the
same work that Christ was engaged in when he was in
his agony and bloody sweat, and when he died on the
cross, which was the greatest thing that ever the eyes
of angels beheld. This, great as it is, they imagine
they can do the same that Christ accomplished by it.
Their self righteousness does in effect charge Christ's
offering up himself in these sufferings, as the greatest
instance of folly that ever men or angels saw, instead of
being the most glorious display of the divine wisdom and
grace that ever was seen. Yea, self righteousness makes
all that Christ did through the whole course of his life,
and all that he said and suffered through that whole
time, and his incarnation itself, and not only so, but all
that God had been doing in the great dispensations of
his providence from the beginning of the world to that
time, as all nothing, but a scene of the most wild, and ex
treme, and transcendent folly.
Is it any wonder, then, that a self righteous spirit is so
represented in scripture, and spoken of, as that which is
most fatal to the souls of men 1 And, is it any wonder,
WORK OP REDEMPTION. 207
that Christ is represented in scripture as being so pro
voked with the Pharisees and others, who trusted in
themselves that they were righteous, and were proud
of their goodness, and thought that their own perform
ances were a valuable price of God's favour and love)
Let persons hence be warned against a self righteous
spirit. You that are seeking your salvation, and taking
pains in religion, take heed to yourselves that you do
not trust in what you do; that you do not harbour any
such thoughts; that God now, seeing how much you
are reformed, how you take pains in religion, and how
you are sometimes affected, will be pacified towards you
with respect to your sins, and on account of it will not
be so angry for your former sins ; and that you shall
gain on him by such things, and draw his heart to show
you mercy ; or at least that God ought to accept of what
you do, so as to be inclined by it in some measure to
forgive you, and have mercy on you. If you entertain
this thought, that God is obliged to do it, and does not
act justly if he refuse to regard your prayers and pains,
and so quarrel with God, and complain of him for not
doing, this shows what your opinion is of your own
righteousness, viz. that it is a valuable price of salvation,
and ought to be accepted of God as such. Such com
plaining of God, and quarrelling with him, for not taking
more notice of your righteousness, plainly shows that
you are guilty of all that arrogance that has been spoken
of, thinking yourself sufficient to offer the price of your
own salvation.
III. What has been said on this subject, affords mat
ter of reproof to those who carelessly neglect the salva
tion of Christ ; such as live a senseless kind of life, ne
glecting the business of religion and their own souls for
the present, not taking any course to get an interest in
Christ, or what he has done and suffered, or any part in
that glorious salvation he has purchased by that price,
but rather have their minds taken up about the gains of
the world, or about the vanities and pleasures of youth,
and so make light of what they hear from time to time
of Christ's salvation, that they do not at present so much
as seek after it. Let me here apply myself to you in
some expostulatory interrogations.
1. Shall so many prophets, and kings, and righteous
men, have their minds so much taken up with the pros
pect, that the purchase of salvation was to be wrought
out in ages long after their death ; and will you neglect it
208 A HISTORY OF THE
when actually accomplished 1 You have heard what great
account the church in all ages made of the future redemp
tion of Christ ; how joyfully they expected it, how they
spoke of it, how they studied and searched into these things,
how they sung joyful songs, and had their hearts greatly
engaged about it, and yet never expected to see it done,
and did not expect that it would be accomplished until
many ages after their death, 1 Pet. i. 10, 1 1, 12. How much
did Isaiah and Daniel, and other prophets, speak con
cerning this redemption ! And how much were their
hearts engaged, and their attention and study fixed up
on it ! How was David's mind taken up in this subject !
He declared that it was all his salvation, and all his de
sire; 2 Sam. xxiii. 5. How did he employ his voice and
harp in celebrating it, and the glorious display of divine
grace therein exhibited ! and all this although they be
held it not as yet accomplished, but saw that it was to
be brought to pass so long a time after their day. — And
before this, how did Abraham and the other patriarchs
rejoice in the prospect of Christ's day, and the redemp
tion which he was to purchase ! And even the saints
before the flood were affected and elated in the expecta
tion of this glorious event, though it was then so long fu
ture, and it was so very faintly and obscurely revealed
to them.
Now these things are declared to you as actually fulfill
ed. The church now has seen accomplished all those great
things which they so joyfully prophesied of; and you are
abundantly shown, how those things were accomplished:
Matt. xiii. 17. "Verily I say unto you, that many pro
phets and righteous men have desired to see those things
which ye see, and have not seen ; and to hear those
things which ye hear, and have not heard them." And
yet, when these things are thus abundantly set before
you as already accomplished, how do you slight them !
How light do you make of them ! How little are they
taken notice of by you ! How unconcerned are you
about them, following other things, and not so much as
feeling any interest in them! Indeed your sin is ex
tremely aggravated in the sight of God. God has put
you under great advantages for your eternal salvation,
far greater than those saints of old enjoyed. He has put
you under a more glorious dispensation ; has given you
a more clear revelation of Christ and his salvation ; and
yet you neglect all these advantages, and go on in a
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 200
careless course of life, as though nothing had been done,
no such proposals and offers had been made you.
2. Have the angels been so engaged about this salva
tion which is by Christ, ever since the fall of man, though
they are not immediately concerned in it, and will you
who need it, and have it offered to you, be so careless
about it 1 You have heard how the angels at first were
subjected to Christ as mediator, and how they have all
along been ministering spirits to him in this affair. In
all the great dispensations which you have heard of from
the beginning of the world, they have been active and as
a flame of fire in this affair, being most diligently em
ployed as ministering spirits to minister to Christ in this
great affair of man's redemption. And when Christ came,
how engaged were their minds ! They came to Zacha-
rias, to inform him of the coming of Christ's forerunner:
they came to the Virgin Mary, to inform her of the ap
proaching birth of Christ : they came to Joseph, to warn
him of the danger which threatened the newborn Sa
viour, and to point out to him the means of safety. And
how were their minds engaged at the time of the birth
of Christ ! The whole multitude of the heavenly host
sang praises upon the occasion, saying, " Glory to God
in the highest, and on earth peace, and good will towards
men." And afterwards, from time to time, they minis
tered to Christ when on earth ; they did so at the time
of his temptation, at the time of his agony in the garden,
at his resurrection, and at his ascension. All these things
show, that they were greatly engaged in this affair ; and
the scripture informs us, that they pry into these things :
1 Pet. i. 12. " Which things the angels desire to look in
to." And how are they represented in the Revelation
as being employed in heaven in singing praises to him
that sitteth on the throne, and to the Lamb ! Now, shall
these take so much notice of this redemption, and of the
purchaser, who need it not for themselves, and have no
immediate concern or interest in it, or offer of it ; and
will you, to whom it is offered, and who are in such ex
treme necessity of it, neglect and take no notice of it?
3. Was it worth the while for Christ to labour so hard,
and do and suffer so much to procure this salvation, and
is it not worth the while for you to be at some labour in
seeking ill Was it a thing of so great importance, that
salvation should be procured for sinners, as that it was
worthy to lie with such weight on the mind of Christ, as
to induce him to become man, and to suffer such con-
18*
210 A HISTORY OF THE
tempt and labour, and even death itself, in order to pro
cure it, though lie stood in need of nothing, though he
was like to'gain no addition to his eternal happiness,
though he could get nothing by those that he saved,
though he did not need them ; was it of such importance
that sinners should be saved, that he might properly be
induced to submit to such humiliation and suffering;
and yet is it not worth the while for you, who are one
of those miserable sinners that need this salvation, and
must perish eternally without it, to take earnest pains to
obtain an interest in it after it is procured, and all things
are ready ?
4. Shall the great God be so concerned about this sal
vation, as so often to overturn the world to make way
for it ; and when all is done, is it not worth your seek
ing after] How has the Lord of heaven and earth been
as it were engaged about this affair ! What great, what
wonderful things has he done from one age to another,
removing kings, and setting up kings, raising up a great
number of prophets, separating a distinct nation "from
the rest of the world, overturning one nation and king
dom, and another, and often overturning the state of the
world ; and so has continued bringing about one change
and revolution after another for forty centuries in suc
cession, to make way for the procuring of this salvation !
And when he has done all ; and when, at the close of
these ages, the great Saviour comes, and, becoming in
carnate, and passing through a long series of reproach
and suffering, and then suffering all the waves and bil
lows of God's wrath for men's sins, insomuch that they
overwhelmed his soul; after all these things done to pro
cure salvation for sinners, is it not worthy of your taking
so much notice of, or being so much concerned about,
though you are those persons who need this salvation,
but that it should be thrown by, and made nothing of,
in comparison of worldly gain, or gay clothing, or youth
ful diversions, or other such trifling things'?
O ! that you who live negligent of this salvation, would
consider what you do ! What you have heard from this
subject, may show you what reason there is in that ex
clamation of the Apostle, Heb. ii. 3. "How shall we
escape if we neglect so great salvation?" and in that,
Acts xiii. 41. "Behold," ye despisers, and wonder,
and perish ; for I work a work in your days, a work
which you shall in no wise believe, though a man de
clare it unto you." God looks on such as^you as great
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 211
enemies of the cross of Christ, and adversaries and des-
pisers of all the glory of this great work. And if God
has made such account of the glory of salvation as to
destroy many nations, and so often overturn all nations,
to prepare the way for the glory of his Son in this affair;
how little account will he make of the lives and souls of
ten thousand such opposers and despisers as you that
continue impenitent, in comparison of that glory, when
he shall hereafter come and find that your welfare stands
in the way of that glory] Why surely you shall be
dashed to pieces as a potter's vessel, and trodden down
as the mire of the streets. God may, through wonderful
patience, bear with hardened careless sinners for a
while ; but he will not long bear with such despisers of
h,is dear Son, and his great salvation, the glory of which
he has had so much at heart, but will utterly consume
them without remedy or mercy.
SECTION II.
I WILL conclude with a second use, of encouragement to
burdened souls to put their trust in Christ for salvation.
To all such as are not careless and negligent, but do
make seeking an interest in Christ their main business,
being sensible in some measure of their necessity of an
interest in Christ, being afraid of the wrath to come ; to
such what has been said on this subject holds forth great
matter of encouragement, to come and venture their
souls on the Lord Jesus Christ: and as motives proper
to excite you so to do, let me lead you to consider two
things in particular.
1. The completeness of the purchase which has been
made. As you have heard, this work of purchasing sal
vation was wholly finished during the time of Christ's
humiliation. When Christ rose from the dead, and was
exalted from that abasement to which he submitted for
our salvation, the purchase of eternal life was completely
made, so that there was no need of any thing more to be
done in order to it. But now the servants were sent
forth with the message which we have account of in
Matt. xxii. 4. " Behold, I have prepared my dinner : my
oxen and my fallings are killed, and all things are ready:
come unto the marriage." Therefore all things being
ready, are your sins many and great? Here is enough
done by Christ to procure their pardon. There is no
212 A HiSTORy or THE
need of any righteousness of yours to obtain your par
don and justification : no, you may come freely, without
money and without price. Since therefore there is such
a free and gracious invitation given you, come; come
naked as you are; come as a poor condemned criminal;
come and cast yourself down at Christ's feet, as one just
ly condemned, and utterly helpless in yourself. Here is
a complete salvation wrought out by Christ, and through
him offered to you. Come, therefore, accept of it, and
be saved.
2. For Christ to reject one that thus comes to him,
would be to frustrate all those great things which you
have heard that God brought to pass from the fall of man
to the incarnation of Christ. It would also frustrate all
that Christ did and suffered while on earth ; yea, it would
frustrate the incarnation of Christ itself; and all the
great things done in preparation for his incarnation; for
all these things were for that end, that those might be
saved who should come to Christ. Therefore you may
be sure Christ will not be backward in saving those who
come to him, and trust in him: for he has no desire to
frustrate himself in his own work; it cost him too dear
for that. Neither will God the Father refuse you ; for
he has no desire to frustrate himself in all that he did for
so many hundreds and thousands of years, to prepare
the way for the salvation of sinners by Christ. Come,
therefore, hearken to the sweet and earnest calls of Christ
to your soul. Do as he invites, and as he commands
you, Matt. xi. 28, 29, 30. "Come unto me, all ye that
labour, and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me ; and ye shall
find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my
burden is light."
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 2J3
PERIOD III.
IN discoursing on this subject, we have already shown
how the work of redemption was carried on through the
first two of the three periods into which we divided the
whole space of time from the fall to the end of the world;
and we are now come to
The third and last period, beginning with Christ's
resurrection, and reaching to the end of the world ; and
would now show how this work was also carried on
through this period, from this
Proposition, That the space of time from the end of
Christ's humiliation to the end of the world, is all taken
up in bringing about the great effect or success of Christ's
purchase.
Not but that there were great effects and glorious suc
cess of Christ's purchase of redemption before, even from
the beginning of the generations of men. But all that
success of Christ's redemption which was before, was
only preparatory, and was by way of anticipation, as
some few fruits are gathered before the harvest. There
was no more success before Christ came than God saw
needful to prepare the way for his coming. The proper
time of the success or effect of Christ's purchase of re
demption is after the purchase has been made, as the
proper time for the world to enjoy the light of the sun is
the day time, after the sun is risen, though we may have
some small matter of it reflected from the moon and
planets before. And even the success of Christ's re
demption while he himself was on earth, was very small
in comparison of what it was after the conclusion of his
humiliation.
But Christ having finished that greatest and most dif
ficult of all works, the work of the purchase of redemp
tion, now is come the time for obtaining the end of it,
the glorious effect of it. This is the next work he goes
about. Having gone through the whole course of hi?
214 A HISTORY OF THE
sufferings and humiliation, there is an end to all things
of that nature : he is never to suffer any more. But now
is the time for him to obtain the joy that was set before
him. Having made his soul an offering for sin, now is
the time for him to see his seed, and to have a portion
divided to him with the great, and to divide the spoil
with the strong.
One design of Christ in what he did in his humiliation,
was to lay a foundation for the overthrow of Satan's
kingdom; and now is come the time to effect it, as
Christ, a little before his crucifixion, said, John xii. 31.
"Now is the judgment of this world; now shall the
prince of this world be cast out." Another design was,
to gather together in one all things in Christ. Now is
come the time for this also : John xii. 32. " And I, if I be
lifted up, will draw all men unto me ;" which is agree
able to Jacob's prophecy of Christ, that when " Shiloh
should come, to him should the gathering of the people
be," Gen. xlix. 10. Another design is the salvation of
the elect. Now when his sufferings are finished, and his
humiliation is perfected, the time Is come for that also :
Heb. v. 8, 9. " Though he were a Son, yet learned he
obedience by the things which he suffered : and being
made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation
unto all them that obey him." Another design was, to
accomplish by these things great glory to the persons of
the Trinity. Now also is come the time for that : John
xvii. 1. " Father, the hour is come ; glorify thy Son, that
thy Son also may glorify thee." Another design was
the glory of the saints. Now is the time also for this :
John xvii. 2. "As thou hast given him power over all
flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou
hast given him." And all the dispensations of God's
providence henceforward, even to the final consumma
tion of all things, are to give Christ his reward, and ful
fil his end in what he did and suffered upon earth, and
to fulfil the joy that was set before him.
INTRODUCTION.
BEFORE I enter on the consideration of any particular
things accomplished in this period, I would briefly ob
serve some things in general concerning it ; and particu
larly how the times "of this period are represented in
scripture.
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 215
I. The times of this period, for the most part, are those
which in the Old Testament are called the latter days.
We often, in the prophets of the Old Testament, read of
such and such things that should come to pass in the
latter days, and sometimes in the last days. Now these
expressions of the prophets are most commonly to be
understood of the times of the period that we are now
upon. They are called the latter days, and the las*,
days ; because this is the last period of the series of
God's providences on earth, the last period of that great
work of providence, the work of redemption ; which is
as it were the sum of God's works of providence, the
time wherein the church is under the last dispensation
of the covenant of grace that ever it will be under on
earth.
II. The whole time of this period is sometimes in scrm-
ture called the end of the world, as, 1 Cor. x. 11. " Now
all these things happened unto them for ensamples: an'*
they are written for our admonition, upon whom tne
ends of the world are come." And the Apostle, Heb. ix.
26. in this expression of the end of the world, means the
whole of the gospel day, from the birth of Christ to the
finishing of the day of judgment : " but now once in the
end of the world, hath he appeared, to put away sin by
the sacrifice of himself." This space of time may well
be called the end of the world ; for this whole time is
taken up in bringing things to their great end and issue,
to that great issue that God had been preparing the way
for, in all the great dispensations of providence, from the
first fall of man to this time. Before, things were in a
kind of preparatory state ; but now they are in a finish
ing state. It is the winding up of things which is all this
while accomplishing. An end is now brought to the
former carnal state of things, which by degrees vanishes,
and a spiritual state begins to be established, and to be
established more and more. First, an end is brought to
the former state of the church, which may be called its
worldly state, the state wherein it was subject to carnal
ordinances, and the rudiments of the world: and then
an end is brought to the Jewish state, in the destruction
of their city and country: and then, after that, an end is
brought to the old heathen empire in Constantine's time;
which is another and further degree of the winding up
and finishing of the world: and the next step is the
finishing of Satan's visible kingdom in the world, upon
the fall of Antichrist, and the calling of the Jews: and
216 A HISTORY OF THE
last will come the destruction of the outward frame of
the world itself, at the conclusion of the day of judgment,
But the world is all this while as it were a finishing,
though it comes to an end by several steps and degrees.
Heaven and earth began to shake, in order to a dissolu
tion, according to the prophecy of Haggai, before Christ
came, that so only those things that cannot be shaken
may remain, i. e. that those things that are come to an
end may come to an end, and that only those things
may remain which are to remain to all eternity.
So, in the first place, the carnal ordinances of the Jew
ish worship came to an end, to make way for the estab
lishment of that spiritual worship, the worship of the
heart, which is to endure to all eternity: John iv. 21.
"Jesus saith unto the woman, Believe me, the hour
cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet
at Jerusalem, worship the Father." Verse, 23. " But the
hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers
shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the
Father seeketh such to worship him." This is one in
stance of the temporary world's coming to an end, and
the eternal world's beginning. And then, after that, the
outward temple, and the outward city Jerusalem, came
to an end, to give place to the setting up of the spiritual
temple and the spiritual city, which are to last to eter
nity ; which is another instance of removing those things
which are ready to vanish away, that those things which
cannot be shaken may remain. And then, after that, the
old heathen empire comes to an end, to make way for
the empire of Christ, which shall last to all eternity;
which is another step of bringing the temporal world to
an end, and of the beginning of the world to come, which
is an eternal world. And after that, upon the fall of An
tichrist, an end is put to Satan's visible kingdom on
earth, to establish Christ's kingdom, which is an eternal
kingdom ; as the prophet Daniel says, chap. vii. 27. "And
the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the
kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the
people of the saints of the Most High, whose kingdom is
an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve
and obey him;" which is another instance of the ending
of the temporary world, and the beginning of the eternal
one. And then, lastly, the very frame of this corruptible
world shall come to an end, to make way for the church
to dwell in another dwelling place, which shall last to
eternity; which is the last instance of the same thing.
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 217
Because the world is thus coming to an end by vari
ous steps and degrees, the Apostle perhaps uses this ex
pression, that the ends of the world are come on us ; not
the end but the ends, of the plural number, as though
the world has several endings one after another.
The gospel dispensation is the last state of things in
the world ; and this state is a finishing state : it is all
spent in finishing things off which before had been pre
paring, or abolishing things which before had stood. It
is all spent as it were in summing things up, and bring
ing them to their issues, and their proper fulfilment.
Now all the old types are fulfilled, and all the prophecies
of all the prophets from the beginning of the world shall
be accomplished in this period.
III. That state of things which is attained in the events
of this period is called a new heaven and a new earth :
Isa. Ixv. 17, 18. "For behold, I create new heavens, and
a new earth : and the former shall not be remembered,
nor come into mind. But be you glad and rejoice for
ever in that which I create: for behold, I create Jerusa
lem a rejoicing, and her people a joy." And ch. Ixvi. 22.
" For as the new heavens and the new earth which I
make, shall remain before me; so shall your seed and
your name remain." See also ch. li. 16. As the former
state of things, or the old world, by one step after an
other, is through this period coming to an end ; so the
new state of things, or the new world, which is a spirit
ual world, is beginning and setting up.
The heaven and earth which are corruptible, are shak
ing, that the new heavens and new earth, which cannot
be shaken, may be established and remain.
In consequence of each of these finishings of the old
state of things, there is a new beginning of a new and
eternal state of things. So was that which accompanied
the destruction of Jerusalem, which was an establishing
of the spiritual Jerusalem, instead of the literal. So with
respect to the destruction of the old heathen empire, and
all the other endings of the old state of things, until at
length the very outward frame of the old world itself
shall come to an end ; and the church shall dwell in a
world new to it, or to a great part of it, even heaven,
which will be a new habitation; and then shall the
utmost be accomplished that is meant by the new hea
vens and the new earth. See Rev. xxi. 1.
The end of God's creating the world was to prepare a
19
218 A HISTORY OP THE
kingdom for his Son, (for he is appointed heir of the
world) and that he might have the possession of it, and
a kingdom in it, which should remain to all eternity.
So that, so far forth as the kingdom of Christ is set up
in the world, so far is the world brought to its end, and
the eternal state of things set up. So far are all the
great changes and revolutions of the ages of the world
brought to their everlasting issue, and all things come to
their ultimate period. So far are the waters of the long
channel of divine providence, which has so many
branches, and so many windings and turnings, emptied
out into their proper ocean, which they have been seek
ing from the beginning and head of their course, and so
are come to their rest. So far as Christ's kingdom is
established in the world, so far are things wound up and
settled in their everlasting state, and a period put to the
course of things in this changeable world ; so far are the
first heavens and the first earth come to an end, and the
new heavens and the new earth, the everlasting heavens
and earth, established in their room.
This leads me to observe,
IV. That the state of things which is attained by the
events of this period, is whatsis so often called the king
dom of heaven, or the kingdom of God. We very often
read in the New Testament of the kingdom of heaven.
John the Baptist preached, that the kingdom of heaven
was at hand ; and so did Christ, and his disciples after
him; referring to something that the Jews in those days
expected, and very much talked of, which they called
by that name. They seem to have taken their expecta
tion and the name chiefly from that prophecy of Daniel
in Nebuchadnezzar's dream, Dan. ii. 44. " And in the
days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a king
dom;" together with that in chap. vii. 13, 14.
Now this kingdom of heaven is that evangelical state
of things in his church, and in the world, wherein con
sists the success of Christ's redemption in this period.
There had been often great kingdoms set up before, which
were earthly kingdoms; as the Babylonish, the Persian,
the Grecian, and the Roman monarchies. But Christ came
to set up the last kingdom, which is not an earthly king
dom, but an heavenly, and so is the kingdom of heaven :
John xviii. 36. "My kingdom is not of this world." This
is the kingdom of which Christ speaks, Luke xxii. 29.
"My Father hath appointed to me a kingdom." This
kingdom began soon after Christ's resurrection, and
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 219
was accomplished in various steps from that time to the
end of the world. Sometimes by the kingdom of hea
ven, is meant that spiritual state of the church which be
gan soon after Christ's resurrection ; sometimes that
more perfect state of the church which shall obtain after
the downfall of Antichrist ; and sometimes that glorious
and blessed state to which the church shall be received
at the day of judgment: 1 Cor. xv. 50. the apostle, speak
ing of the resurrection, says, " This I say, that flesh and
blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God."
Under this head I would observe several things par
ticularly, for the clearer understanding of what the scrip
ture says concerning this period.
1. The setting up of the kingdom of Christ is chiefly
accomplished by four successive great events, each of
which is in scripture called Christ's coming in his king
dom. The whole success of Christ's redemption is com
prehended in one word, viz. his setting up his kingdom.
This is chiefly done by four great successive dispensa
tions of providence; and everyone of them is represent
ed in scripture as Christ's coming in his kingdom. The
first is Christ's appearing in those wonderful dispensa
tions of providence in the apostles' days, in setting up
his kingdom, and destroying the enemies of his kingdom,
which ended in the destruction of Jerusalem. This is
called Christ's coming in his kingdom, Matt, xvi, 28.
" Verily I say unto you, there be some standing here,
which shall not taste of death until they see the Son of
Man coming in his kingdom." And so it is represented
in Matt. xxiv. The second is that which was accom
plished in Constantine's time, in the destruction of the
heathen Roman empire. This is represented as Christ's
coming, and is compared to his coming to judgment, in
the 6th chapter of Revelation at the latter end. The
third is that which is to be accomplished at the destruc
tion of Antichrist. This also is represented as Christ's
coming in his kingdom in the 7th chapter of Daniel, and
in other places, as I may possibly show hereafter, when
I come to speak of it. The fourth and last is his coming
to the last judgment, which is the event principally sig
nified in scripture by Christ's coming in his kingdom.
2. I would observe, that each of "the three former of
these is a lively image or type of the fourth and last, v»z.
Christ's coming to the final judgment, as the principal
dispensations of providence before Christ's first coming,
were types of that first coming.— As Christ's last cou*.
220 A HISTORY OF THE
ing to judgment is accompanied with a resurrection of
the dead, so is each, of the three foregoing with a spirit
ual resurrection. That coming of Christ which ended
in the destruction of Jerusalem, was preceded by a glo
rious spiritual resurrection of souls in the calling of the
Gentiles, and bringing home such multitudes of souls to
Christ by the preaching of the gospel. So Christ's com
ing in Constantine's time, was accompanied with a glo
rious spiritual resurrection of the greater part of the
known world, in a restoration of it to a visible church
state, from a state of heathenism. So Christ's coming
at the destruction of Antichrist, will be attended with a
spiritual resurrection of the church after it had been long
as it were dead, in the times of Antichrist. This is call
ed the first resurrection in the 20th chapter of Revela
tion.
Again, as Christ in the last judgment will gloriously
manifest himself, coming in the glory of his Father, so in
each of the three foregoing events, Christ gloriously
manifested himself in sending judgments upon his ene
mies, and in showing grace and favour to his church;
and as the last coming of Christ will be attended with a
literal gathering together of the elect from the four winds
of heaven, so were each of the preceding attended with
a spiritual gathering in of the elect. As this gathering
together of the elect will be effected by God's angels,
with a great sound of a trumpet, as in Matt. xxiv. 31.
so were each of the preceding spiritual ingatherings
effected by the trumpet of the gospel, sounded by the
ministers of Christ. As there shall precede the last ap
pearance of Christ, a time of great degeneracy and
wickedness, so this has been, or will be, the case with
each of the other appearances. Before each of them is
a time of great opposition to the church : before the first,
by the Jews, in their persecutions that we read of in the
New Testament ; before the second, viz. in Constantine's
time, by the heathen, in several successive persecutions
raised by the Roman emperors against the Christians;
before the third, by Antichrist ; and before the last, by
Gog and Magog, as described in the Revelation.
By each of these comings of Christ, God works a glo
rious deliverance for his church. Each of them is ac
companied with a glorious advancement of the state of
the church. The first, which ended in the destruction
of Jerusalem, was attended with bringing the church
into the glorious state of the gospel, a glorious state of
WORK OP REDEMPTION. 221
the church very much prophesied of old, whereby the
church was advanced into far more glorious circum
stances than it was in before under the Jewish dispensa
tion. The second, which was in Constantine's time,
was accompanied with an advancement of the church
into a state of liberty from persecution, and the counte
nance of civil authority, and triumph over their heathen
persecutors. The third, which shall be at the downfall
of Antichrist, will be accompanied with an advancement
of the church into that state of the glorious prevalence
of truth, liberty, peace, and joy, that we so often read of
in the prophetical parts of scripture. The last will be
attended with the advancement of the church to con
summate glory in both soul and body in heaven.
Each of these comings of Christ is accompanied with
a terrible destruction of the wicked, and the enemies of
the church : the first, with the destruction of the perse
cuting Jews, which was amazingly terrible ; the second,
with dreadful judgments on the heathen persecutors of
the church, of which more hereafter; the third, with the
awful destruction of Antichrist, the most cruel and bitter
enemy that ever the church had ; the fourth, with divine
wrath and vengeance on all the ungodly.
Further, there is in each of these comings of Christ an
ending of the old heavens and the old earth, and a be
ginning of new heavens and a new earth ; or an end of
a temporal state of things, and a beginning of an eternal
state.
3. I would observe, that each of those four great dis
pensations which are represented as Christ's coming in
his kingdom, are but so many steps and degrees of the
accomplishment of one event. They are not the setting
up of so many distinct kingdoms of Christ; they are all
of them only several degrees of the accomplishment of
that one event prophesied of, Dan. vii. 13, 14. "And I
saw in the night visions, and behold, one like the Son of
Man, came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the
Ancient of Days, and they brought him near before him.
And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a
kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should
serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, and
his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed." This
is what the Jews expected, and called "the coming of
the kingdom of heaven ;" and what John the Baptist and
Christ had respect to, when they said, " The kingdom of
19*
222 A HISTORY OF THE
heaven is at hand." This great event is gradually ac
complished, or is accomplished by several steps. Those
four great events which have been mentioned, were
several steps towards the accomplishment of this grand
event.
When Christ came with the preaching of the apostles,
to set up his kingdom in the world, which dispensation
ended with the destruction of Jerusalem, then it was ac
complished in a glorious degree ; when the heathen em
pire was destroyed in Constantine's time, it was fulfilled
in a further degree; when Antichrist shall be destroyed,
it will be accomplished in a yet higher degree : but when
the end of the world is come, then will it be accomplish
ed in its most perfect degree of all ; then it will be finally
and completely accomplished. And because these four
great events are but images one of another, and the three
former but types of thelast, and since they are all only
several steps of the accomplishment of the same thing ;
hence we find them all from time to time prophesied of
under one, as they are in the prophecies of Daniel, and
as they are in the 24th chapter of Matthew, where some
things seem more applicable to one of them, and others
to another.
4. I would observe, that as there are several steps of
the accomplishment of the kingdom of Christ, so in each
one of them the event is accomplished in a further de
gree than in the foregoing. That in the time of Con-
stantine was a greater and further accomplishment of
the kingdom of Christ, than that which ended in the de
struction of Jerusalem; that which shall be at the fall of
Antichrist, will be a further accomplishment of the same
thing, than that which took place in the time of Constan-
tine ; and so on with regard to each : so that the kingdom
of Christ is gradually prevailing and growing by these
several great steps of its fulfilment, from the time of
Christ's resurrection, to the end of the world.
5. And lastly, it may be observed, that the great pro
vidences of God between these four great events, are to
make way for the kingdom and glory of Christ in the
great event following. Those dispensations of provi
dence which were towards the church of God and the
world, before the destruction of the heathen empire in
the time of Constantine, seem all to have been to make
way for the glory of Christ, and the happiness of the
church in that event. And so the great providences of
God which are after that, until the destruction of Anti-
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 223
christ, and the beginning of the glorious times of the
church which follow, seem all to be to prepare the way
for the greater glory of Christ and his church in that
event; and the providences of God which shall be after
that to the end of the world, seem to be for the greater
manifestation of Christ's glory at the end of the world,
and in the consummation of all things.
Thus I thought it needful to observe those things in
general concerning this last period of the series of God's
providence, before I take notice of the particular provi
dences by which the work of redemption is carried on
through this period, in their order: and before I do that,
I will also briefly answer to an inquiry, viz. Why the
setting up of Christ's kingdom after his humiliation,
should be so gradual, by so many steps that are so long
in accomplishing, since God could easily have finished it
at once!
Though it would be presumption in us to pretend to
declare all the ends of God in this, yet doubtless much
of the wisdom of God may be seen in it by us; and par
ticularly in these two things.
1. In this way the glory of God's wisdom, in the man
ner of doing this, is more visible to the observation of
creatures. If it had been done at once, in an instant, or
in a very short time, there would not have been such
opportunities for creatures to perceive and observe the
particular steps of divine wisdom, as when the work is
gradually accomplished, and one effect of his wisdom is
held forth to observation after another. It is wisely de
termined of God, to accomplish his great design by a
wonderful and long series of events, that the glory of his
wisdom may be displayed in the whole series, and that
the glory of his perfections may be seen, appearing, as it
were, by parts, and in particular successive manifesta
tions : for if all that glory which appears in all these
events had been manifested at once, it would have been
too much for us, and more than we at once could take
notice of; it would have dazzled our eyes, and over
powered our sight.
2. Satan is more gloriously triumphed over. — God
could easily, by an act of almighty power, at once have
crushed Satan. But by giving him time to use his ut
most subtilty to hinder the success of what Christ had
done and suffered, he is not defeated merely by surprise,
but has large opportunity to ply his utmost power and
subtilty again and again, to strengthen his own interest
224 A HISTORY OF THE
all that he can by the work of many ages. Thus God
destroys and confounds him, and sets up Christ's king
dom time after time, in spite of all his subtle machina
tions and great works, and by every step advances it
still higher and higher, until at length it is fully set up,
and Satan perfectly and eternally vanquished in the end
of all things.
I now proceed to take notice of the particular events
whereby, from the end of Christ's humiliation to the end
of the world, the success of Christ's purchase has been
or shall be accomplished.
1. I would take notice of those things whereby Christ
was put into an immediate capacity for accomplishing
the end of his purchase.
2. I would show how he obtained or accomplished
that success.
PART I.
I WOULD take notice, first, of those things by which Christ
was put into a capacity for accomplishing the end of his
purchase. And they are two things, viz. his resurrec
tion, and his ascension. As we observed before, the in
carnation of Christ was necessary in order to Christ's
being in a near capacity for the purchase of redemption ;
so the resurruction and ascension of Christ were requi
site, in order to his accomplishing the success of his pur
chase.
I. His resurrection. It was necessary, in order to
Christ's obtaining the end and effect of his purchase of
redemption, that he should rise from the dead. For God
the Father had committed the whole affair of redemp
tion, not only the purchasing of it, but the bestowing of
the blessings purchased, to his Son, that he should not
only purchase it as priest, but actually bring it about as
king ; and that he should do this as God-man. For God
the Father would have nothing to do with fallen man, in
a way of mercy, but by a mediator. But in order that
Christ might carry on the work of redemption, and ac
complish the success of his own purchase as God-man,
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 225
it was necessary that he should be alive, and so that he
should rise from the dead. Therefore Christ, after he
had finished this purchase by death, and by continuing
for a time under the power of death, rises from the dead,
to fulfil the end of his purchase, and himself to bring
about that for which he died : for this matter God the
Father had committed unto him, that he might, as Lord
of all, manage all to his own purposes: Rom. xiv. 9.
"For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and re
vived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and the
living."
Indeed Christ's resurrection, and so his ascension,
was part of the success of what Christ did and suffered
in his humiliation. For though Christ did not properly
purchase redemption for himself, yet he purchased eter
nal life and glory for himself, by what he did and suffer
ed; and this eternal life and glory was given him as a
reward of what he did and suffered : Phil. ii. 8, 9. "He
humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even
the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly
exalted him." And it may be looked upon as part of the
success of Christ's purchase, if it be considered, that
Christ did not rise as a private person, but as the head
of the elect church; so that they did, as it were, all rise
with him. Christ was justified in his resurrection, i. e.
God acquitted and discharged him hereby, as having
done and suffered enough for the sins of all the elect :
Rom. iv. 25. " Who was delivered for our offences, and
raised again for our justification." And God put him in
possession of eternal life, as the head of the church, as a
sure earnest that they should follow. For when Christ
rose from the dead, that was the beginning of eternal
life in him. His life before his death was a mortal life, a
temporal life ; but his life after his resurrection was an
eternal life: Rom. vi. 9. "Knowing that Christ being
raised from the dead, dieth no more ; death hath no more
dominion over him." Rev. i. 18. " I am he that liveth, and
was dead; and behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen."
— But he was put in possession of this eternal life, as the
head of the body ; and took possession of it, not only to
enjoy himself, but to bestow on all who believe in him :
so that the whole church, as it were, rises in him. And
now he who lately suffered so much, after this is to suf
fer no more for ever, but to enter into eternal glory
God the Father neither expects nor desires any more
suffering.
226 A HISTORY OF THE
This resurrection of Christ is the most joyful event
that ever came to pass ; because hereby Christ rested
from the great and difficult work of purchasing redemp
tion, and received God's testimony, that it was finished.
The death of Christ was the greatest and most wonder
ful event that ever came to pass ; but that has a great
deal in it that is sorrowful. But by the resurrection of
Christ, that sorrow is turned into joy. The head of the
whole church, in that great event, enters on the posses
sion of eternal life; and the whole church is, as it were,
•* begotten again to a lively hope." 1 Pet. i. 3. Weeping
had continued for a night, but now joy cometh in the
morning, the most joyful morning that ever was. This
is the day of the reigning of the head of the church, and
all the church reigns with him. This is spoken of as a
day which was worthy to be commemorated with the
greatest joy of all days : Psa. cxviii. 24. " This is the day
which the Lord hath made, we will rejoice and be glad
in it." And therefore this above all other days is ap
pointed for the day of the church's spiritual rejoicing to
the end of the world, to be weekly sanctified, as their
day of holy rest and joy, that the church therein may
rest and rejoice with her head. And as the 3d chapter
of Genesis is the most sorrowful chapter in the Bible; so
those chapters in the evangelists that give an account of
the resurrection of Christ, may be looked upon as the
most joyful chapters of all the Bible: for those chapters
give an account of the finishing of the purchase of re
demption, and the beginning of the glory of the head of
the church, as the greatest seal and earnest of the eter
nal glory of all the rest.
It is further to be observed, that the day of the gospel
most properly begins with the resurrection of Christ. —
Until Christ rose from the dead, the Old Testament dis
pensation remained : but now it ceases, all being fulfilled
that was shadowed forth in the typical ordinances of that
dispensation : so that here most properly is the end of
the Old Testament night, and Christ rising from the
grave with joy and glory, was as the joyful bridegroom
of the church, as a glorious conqueror to subdue their
enemies under their feet ; or was like the sun rising as
it were from under the earth, after a long night of dark
ness, and coming forth as a bridegroom, prepared as a
strong man to run his race, appearing in joyful light to
enlighten the world. Now that joyful and excellent dis
pensation begins, that glorious dispensation, of which
WORK OP REDEMPTION. 227
the prophets prophesied so much ; now the gospel sun is
risen in glory, "and with healing in his wings," that
those who fear God's name, may "go forth, and grow
up as calves of the stall."
II. Christ's ascension into heaven. In this I would in
clude his sitting at the right hand of God. For Christ's
ascension, and" sitting at the right hand of God, can
scarcely be looked upon as two distinct things: for
Christ's ascension was nothing else, but ascending to
God's right hand; it was his coming to sit down at his
Father's right hand in glory. This was another thing
whereby Christ was put into a capacity for the accom
plishing the effect of his purchase ; as one that comes to
be a deliverer of a people as their king, in order to it,
and that he may be under the best capacity for it, is first
installed in his throne. We are told, that Christ was
exalted for this end, that he might accomplish the suc
cess of his redemption: Acts v. 31. "Him hath God ex
alted with his right hand, for to give repentance unto
Israel, and the remission of sins."
Christ's ascension into heaven was, as it were, his
solemn enthronization, whereby the Father did set him
upon the throne, and invest him with the glory of his
kingdom which he had purchased for himself, that he
might thereby obtain the success of his redemption in
conquering all his enemies: Psa. ex. 1. " Sit thou at my
right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool."
Christ entered into heaven, in order to obtain the suc
cess of his purchase, as the high priest of old, after he
had offered sacrifice, entered into the holy of holies with
the blood of the sacrifice, in order to obtain the success
of the sacrifice which he had offered. See Heb. ix. 12.
He entered into heaven, there to make intercession for
his people, to plead the sacrifice which he had made in
order to the success of it, Heb. vii. 25.
And as he ascended into heaven, God the Father did
in a visible manner set him on the throne as king of the
universe. He then put the angels all under him, and
subjected heaven and earth under him, that he might
govern them for the good of the people for whom he had
died, Eph. i. 20, 21, 22.
And as Christ rose from the dead, so he ascended into
heaven as the head of the body and forerunner of all the
church ; and so they, as it were, ascend with him, as
well as rise with him: so that we are both raised up to-
228 A HISTORY OF THE
gether, and made to sit together in heavenly places in
Christ, Eph. ii. 6.
The day of Christ's ascension into heaven was doubt
less a joyful, glorious day in heaven. And as heaven
received Christ, God-man, as its king, so doubtless it re
ceived a great accession of glory and happiness, far be
yond what it had before. So that the times in both
parts of the church, both that part which is in heaven
and also that which is on earth, are become more glori
ous since Christ's humiliation than before.
So much for those things whereby Christ was put into
the best capacity for obtaining the success of redemp
tion.
PART II.
I NOW proceed to show how he accomplished this suc
cess. And here I would observe, that this success con
sists in two things, viz. either in Grace, or in Glory.
That success which consists in the former, is to be seen
in those works of God which are wrought during those
ages of the church wherein the church is continued un
der the outward means of Grace. That success which
consists in the latter of these, viz. Glory, has its chief ac
complishment at the day of judgment. "
SECTION I.
I WOULD first consider the former kind of success, con
sisting in God's grace here; which mainly appears in
the works of God during the time that the Christian
church continues under the means of grace; which is
from Christ's resurrection to his appearing in the clouds
of heaven to judgment ; which includes the three former
of those great events of providence before mentioned,
which are called Christ's coming in his kingdom. In
speaking of this success, I would,
1. Mention those things by which the means of this
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 229
success were established after Christ's resurrection ;
and,
2. Consider the success itself
5 I. I would consider those dispensations of providence,
by which the means of this success were established after
Christ's resurrection.
I. The abolishing of the Jewish dispensation. This
indeed was gradually done, but it began from the time
of Christ's resurrection, in which the abolition of it is
founded. This was the first thing done towards bring
ing the former state of the world to an end. This is to
be looked upon as the great means of the success of
Christ's redemption. For the Jewish dispensation was
not fitted for more than one nation : it was not fitted for
the practice of the world in general, or for a church of
God dwelling in all parts of the world : nor would it have
been in any wise practicable by them : it would have
been impossible for men living in all parts of the world
to go to Jerusalem three times a year, as was prescribed
in that constitution. When therefore God had a design
of enlarging his church, as he did after Christ's resur
rection, it was necessary that this dispensation should
be abolished. If it had been continued, it would have
been a great block and hinderance to the enlargement
of the church. And besides, their ceremonial law, by
reason of its burdensomeness, and the great peculiarity of
some of its rites, was as it were a wall of partition, and
was the ground of enmity between the Jews and Gen
tiles, and would have kept the Gentiles from complying
with the true religion. This wall therefore was broken
down to make way for the more extensive success of
the gospel; as Eph. ii. 14, 15.
II. The next thing in order of time seems to be the
appointment of the Christian Sabbath. For though this
was gradually established in the Christian church, yet
those things by which the revelation of God's mind and
will was made, began on the day of Christ's resurrec
tion, by his appearing then to his disciples, John xx. 10.
and was afterwards confirmed by his appearing from
time to time on that day rather than any other, John xx.
26. and by his sending down the Holy Spirit so remark
ably on that day, Acts ii. 1. and afterwards in directing
that public assemblies and the public worship of Chris
tians should be on that day, which may be concluded
from Acts xx. 7. 1 Cor. xvi. 1, 2. and Rev. i. 10. And
20
230 A HISTORY OF THE
so the day of the week on which Christ rose from the
dead, that joyful day, is appointed to be the day of the
church's holy rejoicing to the end of the world, and the
day of their stated public worship. And \his is a very
great and principal means of the success which the gos
pel has had in the world.
III. The next thing was Christ's appointment of the
gospel ministry, and commissioning and sending forth
his apostles to teach and baptize all nations. Of these
things we have an account in Matt, xxviii. 19, 20. "Go
ye, therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in
the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy
Ghost ; teaching them to observe all things whatsoever
I have commanded you : and lo, I am with you alway,
even unto the end of the world." — There were three
things done by this one instruction and commission of
Christ to his apostles, viz.
1. The appointment of the office of the gospel ministry.
For this commission which Christ gives to his apostles,
in the most essential parts of it, belongs to all ministers ;
and the apostles, by virtue of it, were ministers or elders
of the church.
2. Here is something peculiar in this commission of
the apostles, viz. to go forth from one nation to another,
preaching the gospel in all the world. The apostles had
something above what belonged to their ordinary char
acter as ministers; they had an extraordinary power of
teaching and ruling, which extended to all the churches;
and not only all the churches which then were, but all
that should be to the end of the world by their ministry.
And so the apostles were, as it were, in subordination to
Christ, made foundations of the Christian church. See
Eph. ii. 20. and Rev. xxi. 14.
3. Here is an appointment of Christian baptism. This
ordinance indeed had a beginning before; John the Bap
tist and Christ both baptized. But now especially by
this institution is it established as an ordinance to be up
held in the Christian church to the end of the world. —
The ordinance of the Lord's supper had been established
before, just before Christ's crucifixion.
IV. The next thing to be observed, is the enduing the
apostles, and others, with extraordinary and miraculous
gifts of the Holy Ghost ; such as the gift of tongues, the
gift of healing, of prophecy, &c. The^Spirit of God was
poured out in great abundance in this respect ; so that
not only ministers, but a very great part of the Chris-
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 231
tians through the world were endued with them, both
old and young; not only officers, and more honourable
persons, but the meaner sort of people, servants and
handmaids, were commonly endued with them, agree
able to Joel's prophecy, Joel ii. 28, 29. of which prophecy
the Apostle Peter takes notice, that it is accomplished in
this dispensation, Acts ii. 11.
How wonderful a dispensation was this ! Under the
Old Testament, but few had such honours put upon
them by God. Moses wished that all the Lord's people
were prophets, Num. xi. 29. whereas Joshua thought it
much that Eldad and Medad prophesied. But now we
find the wish of Moses fulfilled. And this continued in
a very considerable degree to the end of the apostolic
age, or the first hundred years after the birth of Christ,
which is therefore called the age of miracles.
This was a great means of the success of the gospel in
that age, and of establishing the Christian church in all
parts of the world ; and not only in that age, but in all
ages to the end of the world : for Christianity being by
this means established through so great a part of the
known world by miracles, it was after that more easily
continued by tradition ; and then, by means of these ex
traordinary gifts of the Holy Ghost, the apostles, and
others, were enabled to write the New Testament, to be
An infallible rule of faith and manners to the church to
the end of the world. And furthermore, these miracles
stand recorded in those writings as a standing proof and
evidence of the truth of the Christian religion to all ages.
V. The next thing I would observe is the revealing
those glorious doctrines of the gospel fully and plainly,
which had under the Old Testament been obscurely
revealed. The doctrine of Christ's satisfaction and
righteousness, his ascension and glory, and the way of
salvation, under the Old Testament, were in a great
measure hid under the veil of types and shadows and
more obscure revelations, as Moses put a veil on his face
to hide the shining of it; but now the veil of the temple
is rent from the top to the bottom ; and Christ, the anti
type of Moses, shines: the shining of his face is without
a veil ; 2 Cor. iii. 12, 13, & 18. Now these glorious mys
teries are plainly revealed, which were in a great mea
sure kept secret from the foundation of the world, Eph.
iii. 3, 4, 5. Rom. xvi. 25. " According to the revelation
of the mystery which was kept secret since the world
began, but now is made manifest;" and, Col. i. 26.
232 A HISTORY OF THE
" Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages, and
generations, but now is made manifest to his saints."
Thus the Sun of Righteousness, after it is risen from
under the earth, begins to shine forth clearly, and not
only by a dim reflection as it did before. Christ, before
his death, revealed many things more clearly than ever
they had been revealed in the Old Testament; but the
great mysteries of Christ's redemption, and reconcilia
tion by his death, and justification by his righteousness,
were not so plainly revealed before Christ's resurrection.
Christ gave this reason for it, that he would not put new
wine into old bottles; and it was gradually done after
Christ's resurrection. In all likelihood, Christ much
more clearly instructed them personally after his resur
rection, and before his ascension ; as we read that he
continued with them forty days, speaking of the things
pertaining to the kingdom, Acts i. 3. and that " he opened
their understandings, that they might understand the
scriptures," Luke xxiv. 45. But the clear revelation of
these things was principally after the pouring out of the
Spirit on the day of Pentecost, agreeable to Christ's pro
mise, John xvi. 12, 13. "I have yet many things to say
unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit,
when the Spirit of truth is come, he shall guide you into
all truth." This clear revelation of the mysteries of the
gospel, as they are delivered, we have chiefly through
the hands of the Apostle Paul, by whose writings a child
may come to know more of the doctrines of the gospel,
in many respects, than the greatest prophets knew un
der the darkness of the Old Testament.
Thus we see how the light of the gospel, which began
to dawn immediately after the fall, and gradually grew
and increased through all the ages of the Old Testament,
as we observed as we went along, is now come to the
light of perfect day, and the brightness of the sun shining
forth in his unveiled glory.
VI. The next thing that I would observe, is the ap
pointment of the office of deacons in the Christian church,
which we have an account of in the 6th chapter of the
Acts, to take care for the outward supply of the mem
bers of Christ's church, and the exercise of that great
Christian virtue of charity.
VII. The calling, and qualifying, and sending the
Apostle Paul. This was begun in his conversion as he
was going to Damascus, and was one of the greatest
.means of the success of Christ's redemption that follow-
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 233
ed : for this success was more by the labours, preaching,
and writings of this Apostle, than all the other apostles
put together. For, as he says, I Cor. xv. 10. he "labour
ed more abundantly than they all ;" so his success was
more abundant than that of them all. As he was the
apostle of the Gentiles, so it was mainly by his ministry
that the Gentiles were called, and the gospel spread
through the world; and our nation, and the other na
tions of Europe, have the gospel among them chiefly
through his means ; and he was more employed by the
Holy Ghost in revealing the glorious doctrines of the
gospel by his writings, for the use of the church in all
ages, than all the other apostles taken together.
VIII. The next thing I would observe, is the institu
tion of ecclesiastical councils, for deciding controversies,
and ordering the affairs of the church of Christ, of which
we have an account in the 15th chapter of Acts.
IX. The last thing I shall mention under this head,
is the committing the New Testament to writing. This
was all written after the resurrection of Christ ; and all
written either by the apostles, or by the evangelists, who
were companions of the apostles. All the New Testa
ment was written by the apostles themselves, excepting
what was written by Mark and Luke, viz. the gospels
of Mark and Luke, and the book of the Acts of the Apos
tles. He that wrote the gospel of Mark, is supposed to
be he whose mother was Mary, in whose house they
were praying for Peter, when he, brought out of prison
by the angel, came and knocked at the door; of which
we read, Acts xii. 12. "And when he had considered the
thing, he came to the house of Mary the mother of John,
whose surname was Mark, where many were gathered
together, praying." He was the companion of the apos
tles Barnabas and Saul : Acts xv. 37. " And Barnabas
determined to take with them John, whose surname was
Mark." He was Barnabas's sister's son, and seems
sometimes to have been a companion of the Apostle
Paul: Col. iv. 10. " Aristarchus, my fellow prisoner,
saluteth you, and Marcus, sister's son to Barnabas ;
touching whom ye received commandment : if he come
unto you, receive him." The apostles seem to have
made great account of him, as appears by those places,
and also by Acts xii. 25. " And Barnabas and Saul re
turned from Jerusalem, and took with them John, whose
surname was Mark ;" and Acts xiii. 5. " And when they
were at Salamis, they preached the word of God in the
20*
234 A HISTORY OF THE
synagogues of the Jews ; and they had also John to their
minister;" and, 2 Tim. iv. 11. "Only Luke is with me:
take Mark and bring him with thee ; for he is profitable
to me for the ministry."
This Luke, who wrote the gospel of Luke and the
book of Acts, was a great companion of the Apostle Paul.
He is spoken of as being with him in the last mentioned
place, and speaks of himself as accompanying him in his
travels in the history of the Acts; and therefore he speaks
in the first person plural, when speaking of Paul's tra
vels, saying, We went to such and such a place ; We set
sail ; We launched from such a place ; and landed at
such a place. He was greatly beloved by the Apostle
Paul : he is that beloved physician spoken of, Col. iv.
14. The Apostle ranks Mark and Luke among his fel
low labourers, Philemon, 24. " Marcus, Aristarchus, De-
mas, Lucas, my fellow labourers."
The rest of the books were all written by the apostles
themselves. The books of the New Testament are either
historical, or doctrinal, or prophetical. The historical
books are the writings of the four evangelists, giving us
the history of Christ, and his purchase of redemption,
and his resurrection and ascension ; and the Acts of the
Apostles, giving an account of the great things by which
the Christian church was first established and propagat
ed. The doctrinal books are the epistles. These, most
of them, we have from the great Apostle Paul. And we
have one prophetical book, which takes place after the
end of the history of the whole Bible, and gives an ac
count of the great events which were to come to pass
by which the work of redemption was to be carried on
to the end of the world.
All these books are supposed to have been written be
fore the destruction of Jerusalem, excepting those which
were written by the Apostle John, who lived the longest
of all the apostles, and wrote what he wrote after the
destruction of Jerusalem, as is supposed. And to this
beloved disciple it was that Christ revealed those won
derful things which were to come to pass in his church
to the end of time; and he was the person that put the
finishing hand to the canon of the scriptures, and sealed
the whole of it. So that now the canon of scripture, that
great and standing written rule, which was begun about
Moses's time, is completed and settled, and a curse de
nounced against him that adds any thing to it, or dimin
ishes any thing from it. And so all things are establish-
AVORK OF REDEMPTION. 235
ed and completed which relate to the appointed means
of grace. All the stated means of grace were finished
in the apostolical age, or before the death of the Apostle
John, and are to remain unaltered to the day of judg
ment.
Thus far we have considered those things by which
the means of grace were given and established in the
Christian church.
§ II. The other thing proposed relating to the success
of Christ's redemption during the church's continuance
under means of grace, was to show how this success
was carried on ; which is what I would now proceed to
do.
And here it is worthy to be remembered, that the
Christian church, during its continuance under the means
of grace, is in two very different states.
1. In a suffering, afflicted, persecuted state, as, for the
most part it is, from the resurrection of Christ until the
fall of Antichrist.
2. In a state of peace and prosperity; which is the
state that the church, for the most part, is to be in after
the fall of Antichrist.
First, I would show how the success of Christ's re
demption is carried on during the continuance of the
church's suffering state, from the resurrection of Christ
to the fall of Antichrist. This space of time, for the most
part, is a state of the church's sufferings, and is so repre
sented in scripture. Indeed God is pleased, out of love
and pity to his elect, to grant many intermissions of the
church's sufferings during this time, whereby the days
of tribulation are as it were shortened. But from Christ's
resurrection until the fall of Antichrist, is the appointed
day of Zion's troubles. During this space of time, for
the most part, some part or other of the church is under
persecution ; and great part of the time, the whole church,
or at least the generality of God's people, have been per
secuted.
For the first three hundred years after Christ, the
church was for the most part in a state of great afflic
tion, the object of reproach and persecution; first by the
Jews, and then by the heathen. After this, from the be
ginning of Constantine's time, the church had rest and
prosperity for a little while ; which is represented in
Rev. vii. at the beginning, by the angel's holding the four
winds for a little while. But presently after, the church
236 A HISTORV OP THE
again sufFerd persecution from the Arians ; and after
that, Antichrist rose, and the church was driven away
into the wilderness, and was kept down in obscurity,
and contempt, and suffering, for a long time, under An
tichrist, before the reformation by Luther and others.
And since the Reformation, the church's persecutions
have been beyond all that ever were before. And though
some parts of God's church sometimes have had rest,
yet to this day, for the most part, the true church is very
much kept under by its enemies, and some parts of it
under grievous persecution ; and so we may expect it
will continue until the fall of Antichrist; and then will
come the appointed day of the church's prosperity on
earth, the set time in which God will favour Zion, the
time when the saints shall not be kept under by wicked
men, as it has been hitherto ; but wherein they shall be
uppermost, and shall reign on earth, as it is said, Rev.
v. 10. " And the kingdom shall be given to the people of
the saints of the Most High," Dan. vii. 27.
This suffering state of the church is in scripture re
presented as a state of the church's travail, John xvi. 20,
21. and Rev. xii. I, 2. What the church is in travail
striving to bring forth during this time, is that glory and
prosperity of the church which shall be after the fall of
Antichrist, and then shall she bring forth her child. This
is a long time of the church's trouble and affliction, and
is so spoken of in scripture, though it be spoken of as
being but for a little season, in comparison of the eter
nal prosperity of the church. Hence the church, under
the long continuance of this affliction, cries out, as in
Rev. vi. 10. "How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost
thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell
on the earth 1" And we are told, that " white robes were
given unto every one of them; and it was said unto
them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until
their fellow servants also, and their brethren, that should
be killed as they were, should be fulfilled." So, Dan. xii.
6. "How long shall it be to the end of these wonders'?"
It is to be observed, that during the time of these suf
ferings of the church, the main instrument of their suf
ferings has been the Roman government : her afflictions
have almost all along been from Rome. That is there
fore in the New Testament called Babylon ; because, as
of old the troubles of the city Jerusalem were mainly
from that adverse city Babylon, so the troubles of the
Christian church, the spiritual Jerusalem, during the
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 237
long time of its tribulation, is mainly from Rome. Be
fore the time of Constantine, the troubles of the Chris
tian church were from heathen Rome : since that time,
its troubles have been mainly from Antichristian Rome.
And as of old, the captivity of the Jews ceased on the
destruction of Babylon, so the time of the trouble of the
Christian church will cease with the destruction of the
church of Rome, that spiritual Babylon.
In showing how the success of Christ's redemption is
carried on, during this time of the church's tribulation, I
would,
1. Show how it was carried on until the destruction
of Jerusalem, with which ended the first great dispensa
tion of Providence which is called Christ's coming in his
kingdom.
2. How it was carried on from thence to the destruc
tion of the heathen empire in the time of Constantine,
which is the second dispensation called Christ's coming.
3. How it was carried on from thence to the destruc
tion of Antichrist, when will be accomplished the third
great event called Christ's coming, and with which the
days of the church's tribulation and travail end.
I. I would show how the success of Christ's purchase
of redemption was carried on from Christ's resurrection
to the destruction of Jerusalem. In speaking of this, I
would, 1. Take notice of the success itself; and, 2. The
opposition made against it by the enemies of it ; and, 3.
The terrible judgments of God on those enemies.
1. I would observe the success itself. Soon after Christ
had finished the purchase of redemption, and was gone
into heaven, and entered into the holy of holies with his
own blood, there began a glorious success of what he
had done and suffered. Having undermined the foun
dation of Satan's kingdom, it began to fall apace. Swift
ly did it hasten to ruin in the world, which might well
be compared to Satan's falling like lightning from hea
ven. Satan before had exalted his throne very high in
this world, even to the very stars of heaven, reigning
with great glory in his heathen Roman empire : but
never before hatl he such a downfall as he had soon after
Christ's ascension. He had, we may suppose, been very
lately triumphing in a supposed victory, having brought
about the death of Christ, which he doubtless gloried in
as the greatest feat that ever he did ; and probably im
agined he had totally defeated God's design by him. But
he was quickly made sensible, that he had only been
238 A HISTORY OF THE
ruining his own kingdom, when he saw it tumbling so
fast so soon after, as a consequence of the death of Christ.
For Christ, by his death, having purchased the Holy Spi
rit, and having ascended, and received the Spirit, he
poured it forth abundantly for the conversion of thou
sands and millions of souls.
Never had Christ's kingdom been so set up in the
world. There probably were more souls converted in
the age of the apostles than had been before from the
beginning of the world until that time. Thus God so
soon begins gloriously to accomplish his promise to his
Son, wherein he had promised, that he should see his
seed, and that the pleasure of the Lord should prosper
in his hand, if he would make his soul an offering for
sin. And,
(1.) Here is to be observed the success which the gos
pel had among the Jews : for God first began with them.
He being about to reject the main body of that people,
first calls in his elect from among them, before he forsook
them, to turn to the Gentiles. It was so in former great
and dreadful judgments of God on that nation : the bulk
of them were destroyed, and only a remnant saved, or
reformed. So it was in the rejection of the ten tribes,
long before this rejection : the bulk of the ten tribes were
rejected, when they left the true worship of God in Jero
boam's time, and afterwards more fully in Ahab's time.
But yet there was a remnant of them that God reserved.
A number left their possessions in these tribes, and went
and settled in the tribes of Judah and Benjamin. And
afterwards there were seven thousand in Ahab's time,
who had not bowed the knee to BaaJ. And so, in the
captivity into Babylon, only a remnant of them ever re
turned to their own land. And so now again, by far the
greater part of the people were rejected entirely, but
some few were saved. And therefore the Holy Ghost
compares this reservation of a number that were con
verted by the preaching of the apostles, to those former
remnants : Rom. ix. 27. '• Esaias also crieth concerning
Israel, Tnough the number of the children of Israel be
as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved." See
Isa. x. 22.
The glorious success of the gospel among the Jews af
ter Christ's ascension, began by the pouring out of the
Spirit upon the day of Pentecost, of which we read in
Acts ii. So wonderful was this pouring out of the Spirit,
and so remarkable and swiit the effect of it, that we read
WORK OP REDEMPTION. 239
of three thousand who were converted to the Christian
faith in one day, Acts ii. 41. And probably the greater
part of these were savingly converted. And after this,
we read of God's adding to the church daily such as
should be saved, ver. 47. And soon after, we read, that
the number of them were about five thousand. Thus
were not only a multitude converted, but the church was
then eminent in piety, as appears by Acts ii. 46, 47, and
iv. 32.
Thus the Christian church was first of all of the nation
of Israel ; and therefore, when the Gentiles were called,
they were but as it were added to Israel, to the seed of
Abraham. They were added to the Christian church of
Israel, as the proselytes of old were to the Mosaic church
of Israel ; and so were as it were only grafted on the
stock of Abraham, and were not a distinct tree ; for they
are all still the seed of Abraham and Israel ; as Ruth the
Moabitess, and Uriah the Hittite, and other proselytes
of old, were the same people, and ranked as the seed of
Israel.
So the Christian church at first began at Jerusalem,
and from thence was propagated to all nations : so that
this church of Jerusalem was the church that was as it
were the mother of all other churches in the world;
agreeable to the prophecy, Is. ii. 3, 4. " Out of Zion shall
go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusa
lem : and he shall judge among the nations, and rebuke
many people." So that the whole church of God is still
God's Jerusalem : they are his spiritual Jerusalem, and are
as it were only added to the church, which was begun in
the literal Jerusalem.
After this, we read of many thousands of Jews that
believed, in Jerusalem, Acts xxi. 20. And so we read of
multitudes of Jews who were converted in other cities
of Judea ; and not only so, but even in other parts of the
world. For wherever the apostles went, if there were
any Jews there, their manner was, first to go into the
synagogues of the Jews, and preach the gospel to them,
and many in one place and another believed ; as in Da
mascus and Antioch, and many other places that we read
of in the Acts of the Apostles.
In this pouring out of the Spirit, which began at the
Pentecost following Christ's ascension, began that first
great dispensation which is called Christ's coming in his
kingdom. Christ's coming thus in a spiritual manner
for the glorious setting up of his kingdom in the world,
240 A HISTORY OF THE
is represented by Christ himself as his comingdown from
heaven, whither he had ascended, John xiv. 18. There
Christ having been speaking of his ascension, says, " I
will not leave you comfortless ; I will come unto you,"
speaking of his coming by the coming of the Comforter,
the Spirit of truth. And, ver. 28. " Ye have heard how
I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you."
And thus the apostles began to see the kingdom of hea
ven come with power, as he promised they should, Mark
ix. 1.
(2.) What is next to be observed is the success of the
gospel among the Samaritans. After the success of the
gospel had been so gloriously begun among the proper
Jews, the Spirit of God was next wonderfully poured out
on the Samaritans, who were not Jewrs by nation, but the
posterity of those whom the king of Assyria removed
from different parts of his dominions, and settled in the
land that was inhabited by the ten tribes whom he car
ried captive. But yet they had received the five books
of Moses, and practised most of the rites of the law of
Moses, and so were a sort of mongrel Jews. We do not
find them reckoned as Gentiles in the New Testament :
for the calling of the Gentiles is spoken of as a new thing
after this, beginning with the conversion of Cornelius.
But yet it was an instance of making that a people that
were no people: for they had corrupted the religion
which Moses commanded, and did not go up to Jerusa
lem to worship, but had another temple of their own in
Mount Gerizzim ; which is the mountain of which the
woman of Sarnaria speaks, when she says, " Our fathers
worshipped in this mountain." Christ there does not ap
prove of their separation from the Jews; but tells the
woman of Samaria, that they worshipped they knew not
what, and that salvation is of the Jews. But now salva
tion is brought from the Jews to them by the preaching
of Philip, (excepting that before, Christ had some success
among them,) with whose preaching there was a glori
ous pouring out of the Spirit of God in the city of Sa
maria ; where we are told, that, " the people believed
Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of
Christ, and were baptized, both men and women ; and
that there was great joy in that city," Acts viii. 8 — 12.
Thus Christ had a glorious harvest in Samaria ; which
is what Christ seems'to have had respect to, in what he
said to his disciples at Jacob's well three or four years
before, on occasion of the people of Samaria's appearing
WORK O/' REDEMPTION. 241
at a distance in the fields coming to the place where
Christ was, at the instigation of the woman of Samaria.
On that occasion, he bids his disciples lift up their eyes
to the fields, for that they were white to the harvest, John
iv. 35, 36. The disposition which the people of Samaria
showed towards Christ and his gospel, showed that they
were ripe for the harvest. But now the harvest is come
by Philip's preaching. There used to be a most bitter
enmity between the Jews and Samaritans ; but now, by
their conversion, the Christian Jews and Samaritans are
all happily united : for in Christ Jesus is neither Jew nor
Samaritan, but Christ is all in all. This was a glorious
instance of the wolf's dwelling with the lamb, and the
leopard's lying down with the kid.
(3.) The next thing to be observed is the success there
was of the gospel in calling the Gentiles. This was a
great and glorious dispensation of divine providence,
much spoken of in the prophecies of the Old Testament,
and spoken of by the apostles, time after time, as a most
glorious event of Christ's redemption. This was begun
in the conversion of Cornelius and his family, greatly to
the admiration of Peter, who was used as the instrument
of it, and of those who were with him, and of those who
were informed of it ; as you may see, Acts x. & xi. And
the next instance of it that we have any account of, was
in the conversion of great numbers of Gentiles in Cy
prus, and Cyrene, and Antioch, by the disciples that
were scattered abroad by the persecution which arose
about Stephen, as we have an account in Acts xi. 19, 20.
21. And presently upon this the disciples began to be
called Christians first at Antioch, ver. 26.
And after this, vast multitudes of Gentiles were con
verted in many different parts of the world, chiefly by
the ministry of the Apostle Paul, a glorious pouring out
of the Spirit accompanying his preaching in one place
and another. Multitudes flocked into the church of
Christ in a great number of cities where the Apostle
came. So the number of the members of the Christian
church that were Gentiles, soon far exceeded the num
ber of its Jewish members ; yea so, that in less than ten
years' time after Paul was sent forth from Antioch to
preach to the Gentiles, it was said of him and his com
panions, that they had turned the world upside-down:
Acts xvii. 6. " These that have turned the world upside
down are come hither also." But the most remarkable
pouring out of the Soirit in a particular city that we
21
242 A HISTORY OF THE
have any account of in the New Testament, seems to bo
that in the city of Ephesus, which was a very great city.
Of this we have an account in Acts xix. There was
also a very extraordinary ingathering of souls at Corinth,
one of the greatest cities in all Greece. And after this,
many were converted in Rome, the chief city of all the
world ; and the gospel was propagated into all parts of
the Roman empire. Thus the gospel sun, which had
lately risen on the Jews, now rose upon, and began to
enlighten the heathen world, after they had continued in
gross heathenish darkness for so many ages.
This was a great thing, and a new thing, such as never
had been before. All nations but the Jews, and a few
who had at one time and another joined with them, had
been rejected from about Moses' time. The Gentile world
had been covered over with the thick darkness of idolatry ;
but now, at the joyful glorious sound of the gospel, they
began in all parts to forsake their old idols and to abhor
them, and to cast them to the moles and to the bats, and
to learn to worship the true God, and to trust in his Son
Jesus Christ ; and God owned them for his people ; those
who had so long been afar off, were made nigh by the
blood of Christ. Men were changed from being heathen
ish and brutish, to be the children of God ; were called
out of Satan's kingdom of darkness, and brought into
God's marvellous light; and in almost all countries
throughout the known world were assemblies of the
people of God ; joyful praises were sung to the true God,
and Jesus Christ the glorious Redeemer. Now that
great building which God began soon after the fall of
man, rises gloriously, not in the same manner that it had
done in former ages, but in quite a new manner. Now
Daniel's prophecies concerning the last kingdom, which
should succeed the four heathenish monarchies, begins
to be fulfilled; now the stone cut out of the mountain
without hands, began to smite the image on its feet, and
to break it in pieces, and to grow great, and to make
great advances towards filling the earth ; and now God
gathers together the elect from the four winds of heaven,
by the preaching of the apostles and other ministers, the
angels of the Christian church sent forth with the great
sound of the gospel trumpet, before the destruction of
Jerusalem, agreeable to what Christ foretold, Matt,
xxiv. 31.
This was the success of Christ's purchase, during this
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 243
first period of the Christian church, which terminated in
the destruction of Jerusalem.
2. I would proceed now, in the second place, to take
notice of the opposition which was made to this success
of Christ's purchase by the enemies of it. — Satan, who
lately was so ready to triumph and exult, as though he
had gained the victory in putting Christ to death, now
finding himself fallen into the pit which he had digged,
and finding his kingdom falling so fast, and seeing
Christ's kingdom make such amazing progress, such as
never had been before, we may conclude he was filled
with the greatest confusion and astonishment, and hell
seemed to be effectually alarmed by it to make the most
violent opposition against it. And, first, the devil stirred
up the Jews, who had before crucified Christ, to perse
cute the church : for it is observable, that the persecution
which the church suffered during this period, was mostly
from the Jews. Thus we read in the Acts, when, at Je
rusalem, the Holy Ghost was poured out at Pentecost,
how the Jews mocked, and said, " These men are full of
new wine ;" and how the scribes and Pharisees, and the
captain of the temple, were alarmed, and bestirred them
selves to oppose and persecute the apostles, and first ap
prehended and threatened them, and afterwards impris
oned and beat them ; and breathing out threatenings and
slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, they stoned
Stephen in a tumultuous rage ; and were not content to
persecute those that they could find in Judea, but sent
abroad to Damascus and other places, to persecute all
that they could find every where. Herod, who was
chief among them, stretched forth his hands to vex the
church, and killed James with the sword, and proceeded
to take Peter also, and cast him into prison.
So in other countries, we find, that almost wherever
the apostles came, the Jews opposed the gospel in a most
malignant manner, contradicting and blaspheming. How
many things did the blessed Apostle Paul suffer at their
hands in one place and another ! How violent and blood
thirsty did they show themselves towards him, when he
cameHo bring alms to his nation ! In this persecution and
cruelty was fulfilled the saying of Christ, Matt, xxiii. 34.
" Behold, I send you prophets, and wise men, and scribes :
and some of them ye shall kill and crucify, and some of
them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and perse
cute them from city to city."
3. 1 proceed to take notice of those judgments which
244 A HISTORY OF THE
were executed on those enemies of Christ, the perscuting
Jews.
(1.) The bulk of the people were given up to judicial
blindness of mind and hardness of heart. Christ de
nounced such a wo upon them in the days of his flesh ;
as Matt. xiii. 14. 15. This curse was also denounced on
them by the Apostle Paul, Acts xxviii. 25, 26, 27, and un
der this curse, under this judicial blindness and hard
ness, they remain to this very day, having been subject
to it for about 1700 years, being the most awful instance
of such a judgment, and monuments of God's terrible
vengeance, of any people that ever were. That they
should continue from generation to generation so obsti
nately to reject Christ, so that it is a very rare thing
that any one of them is converted to the Christian faith,
though their own scriptures of the OldTestament, which
they acknowledge, are so full of plain testimonies against
them, is a remarkable evidence of their being dreadfully
left of God.
(2.) They were rejected and cast off from being any
longer God's visible people. They were broken off from
the stock of Abraham, and since that have no more been
reputed his seed, than the Ishmaelites or Edomites, who
are as much his natural seed as they. The greater part
of the two tribes were now cast off, as the ten tribes had
been before, and another people were taken in their
room, agreeable to the predictions of their own pro
phets ; as of Moses, Deut. xxxii. 21. " They have moved
me to jealousy with that which is not God ; they have
provoked me to anger with their vanities ; and I will
move them to jealousy with those which are not a peo
ple, I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation ;"
and of Isa. Ixv. 1. " I am sought of them that asked not
for me; I am found of them that sought me not." — They
were visibly rejected and cast off, by God's directing his
apostles to turn away from them, and let them alone : as
Acts xiii. 46, 47. " Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold,
and said, It was necessary that the word of God should
first have been spoken to you : but seeing ye put it from
you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life,
Jo, we turn to the Gentiles: for so hath the Lord com
manded us." And so Acts xviii. 6, & xxviii. 28.
Thus far we have had the scripture history to guide
us ; henceforward we shall have the guidance only of
two things, viz. of scripture prophecy, and God's provi
dence, as related in human histories. — But I proceed.
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 245
(3.) The third and last judgment of God on those ene
mies of the success of the gospel which I shall mention,
is the terrible destruction of their city and country by
the Romans. They had great warnings and many
means used with them before this destruction. First,
John the Baptist warned them, arid told them, that the
axe was laid at the root of the tree ; and that every tree
which should not bring forth good fruit, should be hewn
down and cast into the fire. Then Christ warned them
very particularly, and told them of their approaching de
struction, and at the thoughts of it wept over them. "And
then the apostles after Christ's ascension abundantly
warned them. But they proved obstinate, and went on
in their opposition to Christ and his church, and in their
bitter persecuting practices. Their so malignantly per
secuting the Apostle Paul, of which we have an account
towards the end of the Acts of the apostles, is supposed
to have been not more than seven or eight years before
their destruction.
And after this God was pleased to give them one more
very remarkable warning by the Apostle Paul, in his
epistle to the Hebrews, which is an epistle written to that
nation of the Jews, as is supposed, about four years be
fore their destruction : wherein the plainest and clearest
arguments are set before them from their own law, and
from their prophets, for whom they professed such a re
gard, to prove that Christ Jesus must be the Son of God,
and that all their law pointed to him and typified him,
and that their Jewish dispensation must needs have now
ceased. For though the epistle was more immediately
directed to the Christian Hebrews, yet the matter of the
epistle plainly shows that the apostle intended it for the
use and conviction of the unbelieving Jews, and in this
epistle, he mentions particularly the approaching de
struction, as chap. x. 25. " So much the more, as ye see
the day approaching;" and in verse 27, he speaks of the
approaching judgment and fiery indignation which
should devour the adversaries.
But the generality of them refusing to receive convic
tion, God soon destroyed them with such terrible circum
stances, as the destruction of no country or city since
the foundation of the world can parallel ; agreeable to
what Christ foretold, Matt. xxiv. 21. "For then shall be
tribulation, such as was not from the beginning of the
world to this time, no, nor ever shall be." The first de
struction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians was very ter-
21*
246 A HISTORY OP THE
rible, as it is in a most affecting manner described by the
Prophet Jeremiah, in his Lamentations; but this was
nothing to the dreadful misery and wrath which they
suffered in this destruction ; God, according as Christ
foretold, bringing on them all the righteous blood that
had been shed from the foundation of the world. Thus
the enemies of Christ are made his footstool after his as
cension, agreeable to God's promise in Psal. ex. at the
beginning; and Christ rules them with a rod of iron.
They had been kicking against Christ, but they did but
kick against the pricks. The briars and thorns set them
selves against them in battle : but he went through them ;
he bound them together.
This destruction of Jerusalem was in all respects
agreeable to what Christ had foretold of it, Matt. xxiv. by
the account which Josephus gives of it, who was then
present, and was one of the Jews, who had a share in
the calamity, and wrote the history of their destruction.
Many circumstances of this destruction resembled the
destruction of the wicked at the day of judgment, by his
account, being accompanied with many fearful sights in
the heavens, and with a separation of the righteous from
the wicked. Their city and temple were burnt, and
rased to the ground, and the ground on which the city
stood, was ploughed ; and so one stone was not left up
on another, Matt. xxiv. 2.
The people had ceased for the most part to be an in
dependent government after the Babylonish captivity:
but the sceptre entirely departed from Judah on the
death of Archelaus; and then Judea was made a Roman
province : after this they were cast off from being the
people of God ; but now their very city and land are
utterly destroyed, and they carried away from it ; and
so have continued in their dispersions through the world
for now above 1600 years.
Thus there was a final end to the Old Testament
world : all was finished with a kind of day of judgment,
in which the people of God were saved, and his enemies
terribly destroyed. — Thus does he who was so lately
mocked, despised, and spit upon by these Jews, and
whose followers they so malignantly persecuted, appear
gloriously exalted over his enemies.
Having thus shown how the success of Christ's pur
chase was carried on until the destruction of Jerusalem,
I come now,
II. To show how it was carried on from that time un
WORK OP REDEMPTION. 247
til the destruction of the heathen empire in the time of
Constantine the Great, which is the second great event
which is in scripture compared to Christ's coming to
judgment.
Jerusalem was destroyed about the year of our Lord
68, and so before that generation passed away which
was contemporary with Christ ; and it was about thirty-
five years after Christ's death. The destruction of the
heathen empire under Constantine, was about 260 years
after this. In showing how the success of the gospel
was carried on through this time, I would, 1. Take notice
of the opposition made against it by the Roman empire.
2. How the work of the gospel went on, notwithstand
ing all that opposition. 3. The peculiar circumstances
of tribulation and distress that the church was in just
before their deliverance by Constantine. 4. The great
revolution in Constantine's time.
1. I would briefly show what opposition was made
against the gospel, and the kingdom of Christ, by the
Roman empire. The opposition that was made to the
gospel by the heathen Roman empire, was mainly after
the destruction of Jerusalem, though their opposition be
gan before ; but the opposition that was before the de
struction of Jerusalem, was mainly by the Jews. But
when Jerusalem was destroyed, the Jews were put out
of a capacity of much troubling the church. Now there
fore the devil turns his hand elsewhere, and uses other
instruments. The opposition which was made in the
Roman empire against the kingdom of Christ, was chiefly
of two kinds.
(1.) They employed all their learning, and philosophy,
and wit, in opposing it. Christ came into the world in
an age wherein learning and philosophy were at their
height in the Roman empire. This was employed to the
utmost against the kingdom of Christ. The gospel,
which held forth a crucified Saviour, was not at all
agreeable to the notions of the philosophers. The Chris
tian scheme of trusting in such a crucified Redeemer,
appeared foolish and ridiculous to them. Greece was a
country the most famous for learning of any in the Ro
man empire; but the apostle observes, that the doctrine
of Christ crucified appeared foolishness to the Greeks, 1
Cor. i. 23. and therefore the wise men and philosophers
opposed the gospel with all the wit they had. We have
a specimen of their manner of opposing, in the story we
have of their treatment of the Apostle Paul at Athens,
248 A HISTORY OP THE
which was a city that had been for many ages the chief
seat of philosophers of any in the whole world. We read
in Acts xvii. 18. that the philosophers of the Epicureans
and Stoics encountered him, saying, "What will this
babbler say] He seemeth to be a setter forth of strange
gods." So they were wont to deride and ridicule Chris
tianity. And after the destruction of Jerusalem, several
of these philosophers published books against it; the
chief of whom were Celsus and Porphyry. These wrote
books against the Christian religion with a great deal of
virulence and contempt, much after the manner that the
Deists of the present age oppose and ridicule Christian
ity. Something of their writings yet remains. As great
enemies and despisers as they were of the Christian reli
gion, yet they never denied the facts recorded of Christ
and his apostles in the New Testament, particularly the
miracles which they wrought, but allowed them. They
lived too near the times wherein these miracles were
wrought to deny them ; for they were so publicly done,
and so lately, that neither Jews nor heathens in those
days appeared to deny them; but they ascribed them to
the power of magic.
(2.) The authority of the Roman empire employed all
their strength, time after time, to persecute, and if pos
sible to root out Christianity. This they did in ten gen
eral successive persecutions. We have heretofore ob
served, that Christ came into the world when the strength
of heathen dominion and authority was the greatest that
ever it was under the Roman monarchy, the greatest
and strongest human monarchy that ever was on earth.
All the strength of this monarchy was employed for a
long time to oppose and persecute the Christian church,
and if possible to destroy it, in ten successive attempts,
which are called the ten heathen persecutions, which
were before Constantine.
The first of these, which was the persecution under
Nero, was a little before the destruction of Jerusalem, in
which the Apostle Peter was crucified, and the Apostle
Paul beheaded, soon after he wrote his second epistle to
Timothy. When he wrote that epistle, he was a prison
er at Rome under Nero, and was soon after he wrote it
beheaded, agreeable to what he says, chap. iv. 6, 7. " 1
am now ready to be offered, and the time of my depar
ture is at hand. 1 have fought a good fight, I have
finished my course, I have kept the faith." — And there
were many thousands of other Christians slain in that
WORK OP REDEMPTION. 249
persecution. The other nine persecutions were all after
the destruction of Jerusalem. Some of these were very
terrible indeed, and far exceeded the first persecution
under Nero. One emperor after another set himself
with the utmost rage to root out the Christian church
from the earth, that there should not be so much as the
name of Christian left in the world. And thousands and
millions were put to cruel deaths in these persecutions ;
for they spared neither sex nor age, but killed them as
fast as they could.
Under the second general persecution, that which was
next after the destruction of Jerusalem, the Apostle John
was banished to the isle of Patmos, where he had those
visions of which he has given an account in the Revela
tion. Under that persecution it was reckoned, that
about 40,000 suffered martyrdom ; which yet was no
thing to what were put to death under some succeeding
persecutions. Ten thousand suffered that one kind of
cruel death, crucifixion, in the third persecution under
the Emperor Adrian. Under the fourth persecution,
which began about the year of Christ 162, many suffered
martyrdom in England, the land of our forefathers, where
Christianity had been planted very early, and, as is sup
posed, in the days of the apostles. And in the later per
secutions, the Roman emperors being vexed at the frus
tration of their predecessors, who were not able to ex
tirpate Christianity or hinder its progress, were enraged
to be the more violent, in their attempts.
Thus a great part of the first 300 years after Christ
was spent in violent and cruel persecutions of the church
by the Roman powers. Satan was very unwilling to let
go his hold of so great a part of the world, and every
way the chief part of it, as the countries contained in the
Roman empire were, of which he had had quiet posses
sion for so many ages: and therefore, when he saw it
going so fast out of his hands, he bestirred himself to his
utmost : all hell was, as it were, raised against it to op
pose it with its utmost power.
Satan thus exerting himself by the power of the hea
then Roman empire, is called the great red dragon in
scripture, having seven heads and ten horns, fighting
against the woman clothed with the sun, as in the 12th
of Revelation. And the terrible conflict there was be
tween the church of Christ, and the powers of the hea
then empire before Constantine's time, is there, in ver. 7,
represented by the war between Michael and his angels,
250 A HISTORY OF THE
and the dragon and his angels : " And there was war in
heaven ; and Michael and his angels fought, and the
dragon fought and his angels."
2. I would take notice of what success the gospel had
in the world before the time of Constantine, notwith
standing all this opposition. — Though the learning and
power of the Roman empire were so great, and" both
were employed to the utmost against Christianity to put
a stop to it, and to root it out for so long a time, and in
so many repeated attempts ; yet all was in vain ; they
could neither root it out, nor put a stop to it. But still,
in spite of all that they could do, the kingdom of Christ
wonderfully prevailed, and Satan's heathen kingdom
mouldered and consumed away before it, agreeable to
the words of the text, " The mo'th shall eat them up like
a garment, and the worm shall eat them like wool." And
it was very observable, that for the most part the more
they persecuted the church, the more it increased ; inso
much that it became a common saying, The blood of the
martyrs is the seed of the church. Herein the church of
Christ proved to be like a palm tree ; of which tree it is
remarked, that the greater weight is laid upon it, or hung
to its branches, the more it grows and flourishes ; on
which account probably the church is compared to a
palm tree in Cant. vii. 7. " This thy stature is like to a
palm tree." Justin Martyr, an eminent father in the
Christian church, who lived in the age next after the
apostles, in some writings of his, which are yet extant,
says, that in his days there was no part of mankind,
whether Greeks or barbarians, or by what name soever
they were called, even the most rude and unpolished na
tions, where prayers and thanksgivings were not made
to the great Creator of the world, through the name of
the crucified Jesus. Tertullian, another eminent father
in the Christian church, who lived in the beginning of
the following age, in some of his writings which are yet
extant, sets forth how that in his day the Christian reli
gion had extended itself to the utmost bounds of the then
known world, in which he reckons Britain, the country
of our forefathers ; and thence demonstrates, that the
kingdom of Christ was then more extensive than any of
the four great monarchies; and moreover says, that
though the Christians were as strangers of no long
standing, yet they had filled all places of the Roman do
minions, their cities, islands, castles, corporations, coun
cils, armies, tribes, the palace, senate, and courts of judi-
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 251
cature; only they had left to the heathen their temples ;
and that if they should all agree to retire out of the Ro
man empire, the world would be amazed at the solitude
and desolation that would ensue upon it, there would be
so few left ; and that the Christians were enough to be
able easily to defend themselves, if they were disposed
to rise up in arms against the heathen magistrates.
And Pliny, a heathen who lived in those days, says, mul
titudes of each sex, every age and quality, were become
Christians. This superstition, says he, having infected
and overrun not the city only, but towns and countries,
the temples and sacrifices are generally desolate arid for
saken.
And it was remarked by both heathen and Christian
writers in those days, that the famous heathen oracles in
their temples, where princes and others for many past
ages had been wont to inquire and receive answers with
an audible voice from their gods, which were indeed
answers from the devil ; I say, those oracles were now
silenced and struck dumb, and gave no more answers :
and particularly the oracle at Delphos, which was the
most famous heathen oracle in the whole world, which
both Greeks and Romans used to consult, began to cease
to give any answers, even from the birth of Christ: and
the false deity who was worshipped, and used to give
answers from his oracle in that temple, being once in
quired of, Why he did not now give answers as he was
wont to do? made this reply, as several heathen histo
rians who Jived about those times relate, There is an
Hebrew boy, says he, who is king of the gods, who has
commanded me to leave this house, and be gone to hell,
and therefore you are to expect no more answers. And
many of the heathen writers who lived about that time,
speak much of the oracles being silenced, as a thing at
which they wondered, not knowing what the cause
should be. Plutarch, a heathen writer of those times,
wrote a particular treatise about it, which is still extant.
And Porphyry, one of the heathen writers before men
tioned, who opposed the Christian religion, in his writ
ings has these words : " it is no wonder if the city for
these so many years has been overrun with sickness :
Esculapius, and the rest of the gods, having withdrawn
their converse with men: for since Jesus began to be
worshipped, no man has received any public help or
benefit by the gods."
252 A HISTORY OF THE
Thus did the kingdom of Christ prevail against the
kingdom of Satan.
3. I now proceed to take notice of the peculiar circum
stances of tribulation and distress just before Constan-
tine the Great came to the throne. This distress they
suffered under the tenth heathen persecution, which, as
it was the last, so it was by far the heaviest, and most
severe. The church before this, after the ceasing of the
ninth persecution, had enjoyed a time of quietness for
about forty years together; but, abusing their liberty,
began to grow cold and lifeless in religion, and carnal
contentions prevailed among them; by which they
offended God to suffer this dreadful trial to come upon
them. And Satan having lost ground so much, notwith
standing all his attempts, now seemed to bestir himself
with more than ordinary rage. Those who were then
in authority set themselves with the utmost violence to
root out Christianity, by burning all Bibles, and destroy
ing all Christians ; and therefore they did not stand to
try or convict them in a formal process, but fell upon
them wherever they could; sometimes setting fire to
houses where multitudes of them were assembled, and
burning them all together; and at other times slaughter
ing multitudes together- so that sometimes their persecu
tors were quite spent with the labour of killing and torment
ing them ; and in some populous places, so many were
slain together, that the blood ran like torrents. It is
related, that seventeen thousand martyrs were slain in
one month's time; and that during the continuance of
this persecution, in the province of Egypt alone, no less
than 144,000 Christians died by the violence of their per
secutors, besides 700,000 that died through the fatigues
of banishment, or the public works to which they were
condemned.
This persecution lasted for ten years together; and as
it exceeded all foregoing persecutions in the number of
martyrs, so it exceeded them in the variety and multi
tude of inventions of torture and cruelty. Some authors
who lived at that time, say, they were innumerable, and
exceed all account and expression.
This persecution in particular was very severe in
England; and this is that persecution which was fore
told in Rev. vi. 9, 10. "And when he had opened the
fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that
were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony
which they held. And they cried with a loud voice,
WORK OF REDEMPTION. v^
saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost them not
judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell en the
earth ?"
And at the end of the ten years during which this per
secution continued, the heathen persecutors thought they
had finished their work, and boasted that they had ut
terly destroyed the name and superstition of the Chris
tians, and had restored and propagated the worship of
the gods.
Thus it was the darkest time with the Christian church
just before the break of day. They were brought to the
greatest extremity just before God appeared for their
glorious deliverance, as the bondage of the Israelites
in Egypt was the most severe and cruel, just before
their deliverance by the hand of Moses. Their enemies
thought they had swallowed them up just before their
destruction, as it was with Pharaoh and his host, when
they had hemmed in the children of Israel at the Red
Sea.
4. I come now, in the fourth place, to the great revo
lution which was in the world in the days of Constan-
tine, which was in many respects like Christ's appearing
in the clouds of heaven to save his people, and judge the
world. The people of Rome being weary of the gov
ernment of those tyrants to whom they had lately been
subject, sent to Constantine, who was then in the city
of York in England, to come and take the throne. And
he being encouraged, as is said, by a vision of a pillar
of light in the heavens, in the form of a cross, in the sight
of his whole army, with this inscription, TOV™ vuca, In this
overcome ; and the night following, by Christ's appear
ing to him in a dream with the same cross in his hand,
who directed him to make a cross like that to be his
royal standard, that his army might fight under that
banner, and assured him that he should overcome; ac
cordingly he did, and overcame his enemies, and took
possession of the Imperial throne, and embraced the
Christian religion, and was the first Christian emperor
that ever reigned. He came to the throne about 320
years after Christ. There are several things which I
would take notice of which attended or immediately fol
lowed Constantine's coming to the throne.
(I.) The Christian church was thereby wholly deliver
ed from persecution. Now the day of her deliverance
came after such a dark night of affliction : weeping had
continued for a night, but now deliverance and joy came
22
254 A HISTORY OF THE
in the morning. Now God appeared to judge nis peo
ple, and repented himself for his servants, when he saw
their power was gone, and that there was none shut up
or left. Christians had no persecutions now to fear.
Their persecutors now were all put down, and their
rulers were some of them Christians like themselves.
(2.) God now appeared to execute terrible judgments
on their enemies. Remarkable are the accounts which
history gives us of the fearful ends to which the heathen
emperors, and princes, and generals, and captains, and
other great men came, who had exerted themselves in
persecuting the Christians; dying miserably, one and
another, under exquisite torments of body, and horrors
of conscience, with a most visible hand of God upon
them. So that what now came to pass might very fitly
be compared to their hiding themselves in the dens and
rocks of the mountains.
(3.) Heathenism now was in a great measure abolish
ed throughout the Roman empire. Images were now
destroyed, and heathen temples pulled down. Images
of gold and silver were melted down, and coined into
money. Some of the chief of their idols, which were
curiously wrought, were brought to Constantinople, and
there drawn with ropes up and down the streets for the
people to behold and laugh at. The heathen priests
were dispersed and banished.
(4.) The Christian church was brought into a state of
great peace and prosperity. Now all heathen magis
trates were put down, and only Christians were advanc
ed to places of authority all over the empire. They had
now Christian presidents, Christian governors, Chris
tian judges and officers, instead of their old heathenish
ones. Constantine set himself to put honour upon
Christian bishops or ministers, and to build and adorn
churches; and now large and beautiful Christian churches
were erected in all parts of the world, instead of the old
heathen temples.
This revolution was the greatest revolution and change
in the face of things that ever came to pass in the world
since the flood. Satan, the prince of darkness, that king
and god of the heathen world, was cast out. The roar
ing lion was conquered by the Lamb of God, in the
strongest dominion that ever he had, even the Roman
empire. This was a remarkable accomplishment of Jer.
x. 11. " The gods that have not made the heavens and
the earth, even they shall perish from the earth, and from
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 255
under these heavens." The chief part of the world was
now brought utterly to cast off their old gods and their
old religion, to which they had been accustomed much
longer than any of their histories give an account of.
They had been accustomed to worship the gods so long,
that they knew not any beginning of it. It was formerly
spoken of as a thing unknown for a nation to change
their gods, Jer. ii. 10, 11. but now the greater part of the
nations of the known world were brought to cast off all
their former gods. That multitude of gods that they
worshipped were all forsaken. Thousands of them were
cast away for the worship of the true God, and Christ
the only Saviour: and there was a most remarkable
fulfilment of that in Isa. ii. 17, 18. "And the loftiness of
man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men
shall be made low : and the Lord alone shall be exalted
in that day. And the idols he shall utterly abolish."
And since that, it has come to pass, that those gods that
were once so famous in the world, as Jupiter, and Sa
turn, and Minerva, and Juno, &c. are only heard of as
things which were of old. They have no temples, no
altars, no worshippers, and have not had for many hun
dred years.
Now is come the end of the old heathen world in the
principal part of it, the Roman empire. And this great
revolution and change of the state of the world, with
that terrible destruction of the great men who had been
persecutors, is compared, in Rev. vi. to the end of the
world, and Christ's coming to judgment ; and is what is
most immediately signified under the sixth seal, which
followed upon the souls under the altar crying, "How
long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not avenge our
blood on them that dwell on the earth?" This vision of
the sixth seal, by the general consent of divines and ex
positors, has respect to this downfall of the heathen Ro
man empire ; though it has a more remote respect to the
day of judgment, or this was a type of it. The day of
judgment cannot be what is immediately intended ; be
cause we have an account of many events which were
to come to pass under the seventh seal, and so were to
follow after those of the sixth seal.
What came to pass now is also represented by the
devil's being cast out of heaven to the earth. In his
great strength and glory, in that mighty Roman empire,
He had as it were exalted his throne up to heaven. But
now he fell like lightning from heaven, and was confined
256 A HISTORY OF THE
to the earth. His kingdom was confined to the meaner
and more barbarous nations, or to the lower parts of the
world of mankind. This is the event foretold, Rev. xii.
9. &c. " And the great dragon was cast out, that old
serpent, called the devil and Satan, which deceiveth the
whole world : he was cast out into the earth, and his
angels were cast out with him," &c. Satan tempted
Christ, and promised to give him the glory of the king
doms of the world; but now he is obliged to give it to
him even against his will. This was a glorious fulfil
ment of that promise which God made to his Son, that
we have an account of in Isa. liii. 12. " Therefore will I
divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide
the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his
soul unto death : and he was numbered with the trans
gressors, and he bare the sin of many, and made inter
cession for the transgressors." This was a great fulfil
ment of the prophecies of the Old Testament concerning
the glorious time of the gospel, and particularly of the
prophecies of Daniel. Now the kingdom of heaven is
come in a glorious degree. It pleased the Lord God of
heaven to set up a kingdom on the ruins of Satan's king
dom. And such success is there of the purchase of
Christ's redemption, and such honour does the Father
put upon Christ for the disgrace he suffered when on
earth. And now see to what a height that glorious
building is erected, which had been building ever since
the fall.
Inference. From what has been said of the success
of the gospel from Christ's ascension to the time of Con-
stantine, we may deduce a strong argument of the truth
of the Christian religion, and that the gospel of Jesus
Christ is really from God. This wonderful success of it
which has been spoken of, and the circumstances of it
which have been mentioned, are a strong argument of it
several ways.
1. We may gather from what has been said, that it is
the gospel, and that only, which has actually been the
means of bringing the world to the knowledge of the
true God. That those are no gods whom the heathen
worshipped, and that there is but one only God, is what,
now since the gospel has so taught us, we can see to be
truth by our own reason : it is ^plainly agreeable to the
light of nature : it can be easily shown by reason to be
demonstrably true. The very Deists themselves ac
knowledge, that it can be demonstrated, that there is one
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 257
God, and but one, who has made and governs the world.
But now it is evident that it is the gospel, and that only,
which has actually been the means of bringing men to
the knowledge of this truth. It was not the instructions
of philosophers. They tried in vain : " the world by
wisdom knew not God." Until the gospel and the holy
scriptures came abroad in the world, all the world lay in
ignorance of the true God, and in the greatest darkness
with respect to the things of religion, embracing the
absurdest opinions and practices, which all civilized
nations now acknowledge to be childish fooleries. And
so they lay one age after another, and nothing proved
effectual to enlighten them. The light of nature, and
their own reason, and all the wisdom of learned men,
signified nothing until the scriptures came. But when
these came abroad, they were successful to bring the
world to an acknowledgment of the one only true God,
and to worship and serve him.
And hence it is that all that part of the world which
now does own one only true God, Christians, Jews, Ma
hometans, and even Deists too, originally came by the
knowledge of him. It is owing to this that they are not
in general at this day left in heathenish darkness. They
have it all, first of all, either immediately from the scrip
tures, or by tradition from their fathers, who had it first
from the scriptures. And doubtless those who now
despise the scriptures, and boast of the strength of their
own reason, as being sufficient to lead into the know
ledge of the one true God, if the gospel had never come
abroad in the world to enlighten their forefathers, would
have been as sottish and brutish idolaters as the world
in general was before the gospel came abroad. The
Mahometans, who own but one true God, at first bor
rowed the notion from the scriptures : for the first Ma
hometans had been educated in the Christian religion,
and apostatized from it. And this is evidential, that the
scriptures were designed of God to be the proper means
to bring the world to the knowledge of himself, rather
than human reason, or any thing else. For it is unrea
sonable to suppose, that the gospel, and that only, which
God never designed as the proper mean for obtaining
this effect, should actually obtain it, and that after hu
man reason, which he designed as the proper mean, had
been tried for a great many ages without any effect. If
the scriptures be not the word of God, then they are
22*
258 A HISTORY OF THE
nothing but darkness and delusion, yea, the greatest
delusion that ever was. Now, Is it reasonable to sup
pose, that God in his providence would make use of false
hood and delusion, and that only, to bring the world to
the knowledge of himself, and that no part of it should
be brought to the knowledge of him any other way]
2. The gospel's prevailing as it did against such pow
erful opposition, plainly shows the hand of God. The
Roman government, that did so violently set itself to
hinder the success of the gospel, and to subdue the
church of Christ, was the most powerful human govern
ment that ever was in the world ; and not only so, but
they seemed as it were to have the church in their hands.
The Christians were mostly their subjects, under their
command, and never took up arms to defend themselves-
they did not gather together, and stand in their own de
fence; they armed themselves with nothing but patience,
and such like spiritual weapons: and yet this mighty
power could not conquer them; but, on the contrary,
Christianity conquered them. The Roman empire had
subdued the world ; they had subdued many mighty and
potent kingdoms ; they subdued the Grecian monarchy,
when they'were not their subjects, and made the utmost
resistance : and yet they could not conquer the church
which was in their hands; but, on the contrary, were
subdued, and finally triumphed over by the church.
3. No other sufficient cause can possibly be assigned
of this propagation of the gospel, but only God's own
power. Nothing else can be devised as the reason of it
but this. There was certainly some reason. Here was
a great and wonderful effect, the most remarkable
change that ever was in the face of the world of man
kind since the flood ; and this effect was not without
some cause. Now, what other cause can be devised
but only the divine power? It was not the outward
strength of the instruments which were employed in it.
At first, the gospel was preached only by a few fisher
men, who were without power and wordly interest to
support them. It was not their craft and policy that
produced this wonderful effect; for they were poor illit
erate men. It was not the agreeableness of the story
they had to tell to the notions and principles of mankind.
This was no pleasant fable: a crucified God and Sa
viour was to the Jews a stumbling block, and to the
Greeks foolishness. It was not the agreeableness of
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 259
their doctrines to the dispositions of men : for nothing is
more contrary to the corruptions of men than the pure
doctrines of the gospel. This effect therefore can have
proceeded from no other cause than the power and
agency of God: and if it was the power of God that was
exercised to cause the gospel to prevail, then the gospel
is his word ; for surely God does not use his almighty
power to promote a mere imposture and delusion.
4. This success is agreeable to what Christ and his
apostles foretold.— Matt. xvi. 18. "Upon this rock will I
build my church : and the gates of hell shall not prevail
against it." John xii. 24. " Verily verily I say unto you,
Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground, and die, it
abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit."
And ver. 31, 32. "Now is the judgment of this world:
now shall the prince of this world be cast out. And I, if
I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto
me." John xvi. 8. " When he (the comforter) is come, he
will reprove the world of sin, of righteousness, and of
judgment — because the prince of this world is judged."
So the Apostle Paul, in 1 Cor. chap. i. 21—28. declares,
how that after the world by wisdom knew not God, it
pleased God, by the foolishness of preaching, to save
them that believe ; and that God chose the foolish things
of the world, to confound the wise; and weak things of
the world, to confound the things which are mighty ;
and base things of the world, and things which are de
spised, yea and things which are not, to bring to nought
things that are." — If any man foretells a thing, very likely
in itself to come to pass, from causes which can be fore
seen, it is no great argument of a revelation from God:
but when a thing is foretold which is very unlikely ever
to come to pass, is entirely contrary to the common
course of things, and yet it does come to pass just agree
able to the prediction, this is a strong argument that the
prediction was from God.
Thus the consideration of the manner of the propaga
tion and success of the gospel during the time which has
been spoken of, affords great evidence that the scriptures
are the word of God.
III. I am now to show how the success of Christ's re
demption is carried on from the time of the overthrow
of the heathen Roman empire in the time of Constantine
the Great, until the fall of Antichrist, and the destruction
of Satan's visible kingdom on earth, which is the third
great dispensation which is in scripture compared to
260 A HISTORY OF THE
Christ's coming to judgment. This is a period wherein
many great and wonderful things are brought to pass.
Herein is contained a long series of wonders of divine
providence towards the Christian church. The greater
part of the book of Revelation is taken up in foretelling
the events of this period.
The success of Christ's purchase of redemption in this
period, appears mainly at the close of it, when Anti
christ comes to fall, when there will be a far more glo
rious success of the gospel than ever was before ; and
that long series of events which are before, seem to be
only to prepare the way for it. And in order to a more
clear view of the great works of God in accomplishing
the success of Christ's redemption, and our seeing the
glory of them, it will be necessary, as we have done in
the foregoing periods, to consider not only the success
itself, but the opposition made to it, and the great works
of Satan in this period against the church and kingdom
of Christ: and therefore, in taking a view of this period,
I would take notice of events which may be referred to
either of these heads, viz. either to the head of Satan's
opposition to the success of Christ's redemption, or to
the head of the success of Christ's redemption : and for
the more orderly consideration of the events of this
period, I would divide it into these four parts : the first
reaching from the destruction of the heathen empire to
the rise of Antichrist; the second, from the rise of Anti
christ to the reformation in Luther's time; the third,
from thence to the present time ; the fourth, from the
present time, until Antichrist is fallen, and Satan's visible
kingdom on earth is destroyed.
1st. I would consider the events of the first part of
this period, reaching from the destruction of the heathen
empire to the rise of Antichrist. And here, first, I would
take notice of the opposition of Satan made in this space
of time to the church : and, secondly, the success that
the gospel had in it.
l.^The opposition. Satan being cast out of his old
heathen empire, the great red dragon, after so sore a
conflict with Michael and his angels for the greater part
of three hundred years, being at last entirely routed and
vanquished, so that no place was found any more in
heaven for him, but he was cast down, as it were, from
heaven to the earth ; yet does not give over his opposi
tion to the woman, the church of Christ, concerning
which all this conflict had been. But he is still in a rage,
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 261
and renews his attempts, and has recourse to new de
vices against the church. The serpent, after he is cast
out of heaven to the earth, casts out of his mouth water
as a flood, to cause the woman to be carried away of the
flood. The opposition that he made to the church of Christ
before the rise of Antichrist, was principally of two sorts.
Jt was either by corrupting the church of Christ with
heresies, or by new endeavours to restore Paganism.
(1.) I would observe, that after the destruction of the
heathen Roman empire, Satan infested the church with
heresies. Though there has been so glorious a work of
God in delivering the church from her heathen persecu
tors, and overthrowing the heathen empire ; yet the days
of the church's travail not being ended, and the set time
of her prosperity not being yet come, as being what was
to succeed the fall of Antichrist, therefore the peace and
prosperity which the church enjoyed in Constantine's
time, was but very short : it was a respite, which gave
the church a time of peace and silence, as it were, for
half an hour, wherein the four angels held the four winds
from blowing, until the servants of God should be sealed
in their foreheads. But the church soon began to be
greatly infested with heresies. The two principal, and
those which did most infest the church, were the Arian
and Pelagian heresies.
The Arians began soon after Constantine came to the
throne. They denied the doctrine of the. Trinity, and
the divinity of Christ and the Holy Ghost, and maintained,
that they were but mere creatures. This heresy in
creased more and more in the church, and prevailed like
a flood, which threatened to overflow all, and entirely to
carry away the church, insomuch that before that age
was out, that is, before the fourth century after Christ
was finished, the greater part of the Christian church
were become Arians. There were some emperors, the
successors of Constantine, who were Arians; so that the
Arians being the prevailing party, and having the civil
authority on their side, did raise a great persecution
against the true church of Christ ; so that this heresy
might well be compared to a flood out of the mouth of
the serpent, which threatened to overthrow all, and quite
carry away the woman.
The Pelagian heresy arose in the beginning of the
next century. It began by one Pelagius, who was borr
in Britain: his British name was Morgan. He deniec!
original sin, and the influence of the Spirit of God in con
262 A HISTORY OF THE
version, and held the power of free will, and many other
things of like tendency ; and this heresy did for a while
greatly infest the church. Pelagius's principal antago
nist, who wrote in defence of the orthodox faith, was
Augustin.
(2.) The other kind of opposition which Satan made
against the church, was in his endeavours to restore
Paganism. And his first attempt to restore it in the Ro
man empire, was by Julian the apostate. Julian was
nephew to Constantine the Great. When Constantine
died, he left his empire to his three sons ; and when they
were dead, Julian the apostate reigned in their stead.
He had been a professed Christian; but he fell from
Christianity, and turned Pagan ; and therefore is called
the apostate. When he came to the throne, he used his
utmost endeavours to overthrow the Christian church,
and set up Paganism again in the empire. He put down
the Christian magistrates, and set up heathens in their
room : he rebuilt the heathen temples, and set up the
heathen worship in the empire, and became a most no
torious persecutor of the Christians, and, as is thought,
against his own light: he used to call Christ, by way of
of reproach, the Galilean. He was killed with a lance in
his wars with the Persians. When he saw that he was
mortally wounded, he took a handful of his blood, and
threw it up towards heaven, crying out, Thou hast over
come, O Galilean. And he is commonly thought by di
vines to have committed the unpardonable sin.
Another way that Satan attempted to restore Pagan
ism in the Roman empire, was by the invasions and con
quests of heathen nations. For in this space of time that
we are upon, the Goths and Vandals, and other heathen
barbarous nations, that dwelt in the north of the Roman
empire, invaded the empire, and obtained great con
quests, and even overran the empire, and in the fifth
century took the city of Rome, and finally subdued and
conquered, and took possession of the Western empire,
as it was called, or the western half of the empire, and
divided it amongst them; divided it into ten kingdoms,
with which began the ten horns of the beast ; for we are
told, that the ten horns are ten kings, who should rise in
the latter part of the Roman empire : these are also re
presented by the ten toes of Nebuchadnezzar's image.
The invasion and conquests of these heathen nations are
supposed to be foretold in the 8th chapter of Revelation,
in what came to pass under the sounding of the first four
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 263
trumpets. Now these nations, who now took possession
of the Western empire, were heathens; so that by their
means heathenism was again for a while restored after
it had been rooted out.
So much for the opposition of Satan against the suc
cess of the gospel during this space before the rise of An
tichrist. I proceed,
2. To show what success there was of the gospel in
this space, notwithstanding this opposition.
(1.) I would observe, that the opposition of Satan in
those things was baffled. Though the dragon cast out
of his mouth such a flood after the woman to carry her
away, yet he could not obtain his design; but the earth
helped the woman, and opened her mouth, and swallow
ed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth.
These heresies, which for a while so much prevailed, yet
after a while dwindled away, and orthodoxy was again
restored: and his attempt by Julian was baffled at his
death.
(2.) The gospel, during this space of time, was further
propagated amongst many barbarous heathen nations
in the confines of the Roman empire. In the time of
Constantine there was a considerable propagation of the
gospel in the East Indies, chiefly by the ministry of one
Frumentius. Great numbers of the Iberians, an heathen
people, were converted to Christianity by a Christian
woman of eminent piety, whom they had taken captive.
And some account is given of several other barbarous
nations who were not within the Roman empire, that
great numbers of them were brought to receive the gos
pel by the teaching and. examples of captives whom they
had taken in war. And after this, about the year of
Christ 372, the gospel was propagated among the bar
barous people that dwelt in Arabia; as it was also
among some of the northern nations ; particularly a
prince of the country of the Goths about this time be
came Christian, and a great number of his people with
him. Towards the latter end of this century, the gos
pel was also further propagated among the Persians, and
also the Scythians, a barbarous people, that the apostle
mentions in Col. iii. 11. "Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor
free."
And after this, about the year 430, there was a remark
able conversion of a heathen people, called the Burgun-
dians, to the Christian faith. About the same time, in
this age, the gospel began to be propagated in Ireland ;
264 A HISTORY OF THE
and the Irish, who until now had been heathen, began to
receive the Christian faith. About the same time it was
further propagated among some barbarous people in
Scotland, and also in some other places. In the next
century to this, one Zathus, a heathen king, who ruled
over a people called the Colchians, was brought to re
nounce his heathenism, and to embrace the Christian
religion. Several other barbarous nations are recorded
to have renounced heathenism and embraced Christian
ity about this time, that I cannot stand to mention.
Thus I have briefly considered the principal events of
providence which concern the success of the gospel of
Christ from Constantine to the rise of Antichrist.
2dly, I come now to the second part of the time from
Constantine to the destruction of Antichrist, viz. that
which reaches from the rise of Antichrist to the Reforma
tion by Luther and others. And this is the darkest and
most dismal day that ever the Christian church saw, and
probably the darkest that ever it will see. The time of
the church's affliction and persecution, as was observed
before, is from Christ's resurrection until the destruction
of Antichrist, excepting what the day is, as it were,
shortened by some intermissions and times of respite,
which God gives for the elect's sake. But this time,
from the rise of Antichrist until the Reformation, was a
space wherein the Christian church was in its greatest
depth of depression, and its darkest time of all. The
true church in this space was for many hundred years
in a state of great obscurity, like the woman in the wild
erness: indeed she was almost hid from sight and ob
servation. In speaking of the events of this space of
time, I would, 1. Take notice of the great machinations
and works of the devil against the kingdom of Christ
during this time; 2. How the church of Christ was up
held during this time.
I. I would take notice of the great works of the devil
against the kingdom of Christ during this time. Satan
had done great things against the Christian church be
fore, but had been baffled once and again. Michael and
his angels had obtained a glorious victory. How terri
ble was his opposition during the continuance of the hea
then empire; and how glorious was Christ's victory and
triumph over him in the'time of Constantine ! It pleased
God now to prepare the way for a yet more glorious vic
tory over him, to suffer him to renew his strength, and
to do the utmost that his power and subtilty can help him
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 2G5
to ; and therefore he suffers him to have a long time to
lay his schemes, and to establish his interest, and make
his matters strong; and suffers him to carry his designs
a great length indeed, almost to the swallowing up of his
church ; and to exercise a high, and proud, and almost
uncontrolled dominion in the world, a long time before
Christ finally conquers, and subdues, and utterly ruins
his visible kingdom on earth, as he will do in the time of
the destruction of Antichrist: thus gloriously triumphing
over him after he has done the utmost that his power
and subtilty can extend to, and showing that he is above
him, after he has dealt most proudly, and lifted himself
highest of all.
The two great works of the devil which he in this
space of time wrought against the kingdom of Christ,
are his creating his Antichristian and Mahometan king
doms, which have been, and still are, two kingdoms, of
great extent and strength, both together swallowing up
the ancient Roman empire ; the kingdom of Antichrist
swallowing up the Western empire, and Satan's Ma-
.hometan kingdom the Eastern empire. As the scrip
tures in the book of Revelation represent it, it is in the
destruction of these that the glorious victory of Christ,
at the introduction of the glorious times of the church,
will mainly consist. And here let us briefly observe how
Satan erects and maintains these two great kingdoms
of his in opposition to the kingdom of Christ.
(1.) With respect to the kingdom of Antichrist. This
seems to be the master-piece of all the contrivances of
the devil against the kingdom of Christ, and is evidently
so spoken of in scripture, and therefore Antichrist is the
man of sin, or that man of sin, 2 Thess. ii. 3. He is so
called emphatically, as though he were so eminently.
So he is called Antichrist, which signifies the opponent
or adversary of Christ. Not that he is the only oppo
nent of Christ; there were many others besides him.
The Apostle John observes, that in his days there were
many Antichrists. But yet this is called the Antichrist,
as though there were none but he, because he was so
eminently, arid above all others. So this contrivance of
the devil, is called the mystery of iniquity, 2 Thess. ii. 7.
And we find no enemy of Christ one half so much spo
ken of in the prophecies of Revelation as this ; and
the destruction of no enemy is spoken of as so glorious
and happy for the church. The craft and subtilty of the
xievil, above all appears in this work of his ; as might
23
26G A HISTORY OF THE
be shown, were it not that it would consume loo much
time.
This is a contrivance of the devil to turn the ministry
of the Christian church into a ministry of the devil, and
to turn these angels of the churches into fallen angels,
and so into devils. And in the tyranny, and supersti
tion, and idolatry, and persecution, which he sets up, he
contrives to make an image of ancient Paganism, and
more than to restore what was lost in the empire by the
overthrow of Paganism in the time of Constantine : so
that by these means the head of the beast, which was
wounded unto death in Constantine, has his deadly
wound healed in Antichrist, Rev. xiii. 3. And the dra
gon, that formerly reigned in the heathen Roman em
pire, being cast out thence, after the beast with seven
heads and ten horns rises up out of the sea, gives him
his power, and seat, and great authority; and all the
world wonders after the beast.
I am far from pretending to determine the time when
the reign of Antichrist began, which is a point that has
been so much controverted among divines and expositors.
It is certain that the 1260 days, or years, which are so
often in scripture mentioned as the time of the continu
ance of Antichrist's reign, did not commence before the
year of Christ 479 ; because if they did, they would have
ended, and Antichrist would have fallen before now.
But I shall not pretend to determine precisely how long
it was after this that that period began. The rise of An
tichrist was gradual. The Christian church corrupted
itself in many things presently after Constantine's time,
growing more and more superstitious in its worship, by
degrees bringing in many ceremonies into the worship
of God, until af length they brought in the worship of
saints, and set up images in their churches, and the clergy
in general, and especially the bishop of Rome, assumed
more and more authority to himself. In the primitive
times he was only a minister of a congregation ; then a
standing moderator of a presbytery; then a diocesan
bishop; then a metropolitan, which is equivalent to an
archbishop; then he was a patriarch, then afterwards he
claimed the power of universal bishop over the whole
Christian church through the world ; wherein he was op
posed for a while, but afterwards was confirmed in it by
the civil power of the Emperor in the year 606. After
that he claimed the power of a temporal prince ; and so
was wont to carry two swords, to signify that both
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 267
the temporal and spiritual sword was his; and claimed
more and more authority, until at length he, as Christ's
vicegerent on earth, claimed the very same power that
Christ would have, if he was present on earth, and
reigned on his throne, or the same power that belongs
to God, and used to be called God on earth ; and used
to be submitted to by all the princes of Christendom.
He claimed power to crown princes, and to degrade
them at his pleasure ; and this power was owned . arid
it came to that, that kings and emperors used to kiss his
feet. The emperors were wont to receive their crowns at
his hands, and princes were wont to dread the displeasure
of the Pope, as they would dread a thunderbolt from
heaven ; for if the Pope was pleased to excommunicate
a prince, all his subjects were at once freed from their
allegiance to him ; yea, and obliged not to own him any
more, on pain of excommunication ; and not only so,
but any man might kill him wherever he found him.
And further, the Pope was believed to have power to
damn men at pleasure ; for whoever died under his ex
communication, was looked upon as certainly damned.
And several emperors were actually deposed, and eject
ed, and died miserably by his means : and if the people
of any state or kingdom did not please him, he had
power to lay that state or kingdom under an interdict,
which was a sentence pronounced by the Pope against
that state or kingdom, whereby all sacred administrations
among them could have no validity. There could be no
valid baptism, or sacraments, or prayers, or preaching,
or pardons, until that interdict was taken off; so that
that people remained, in their apprehension, in a misera
ble, damnable state, and therefore dreaded it as they
would a storm of fire and brimstone from heaven. And
in order to execute his wrath on a prince or people with
whom the Pope was displeased, other princes must also
be put to a great deal of trouble and expense.
And as the Pope and his clergy robbed the people of
their ecclesiastical and civil liberties and privileges, so
they also robbed them of their estates, and drained all
Christendom of their money, and engrossed the most of
their riches into their own coffers, by their vast revenues,
besides pay for pardons and indulgences, baptisms and
extreme unctions, deliverance out of purgatory, and an
hundred other things. — See how well this agrees with the
prophecies, 2 Thess. ii. 3, 4. Dan. vii. 20. 2L Rev. xiii. 6,
7. & chap. xvii. 3, 4.
268 A HISTORY OF THE
During this time also superstition and ignorance more
and more prevailed. The holy scriptures by degrees
were taken out of the hands of the laity, the better to
promote the unscriptural and wicked designs of the Pope
and the clergy ; and instead of promoting knowledge
among the people, they industriously promoted igno
rance. It was a received maxim among them, That ig
norance is the mother of devotion : and so great was the
darkness of those times, that learning was almost extinct
in the world. The very priests themselves, most of them,
were barbarously ignorant as to any commendable
learning, or any other knowledge, than their hellish craft
in oppressing and tyrannizing over the souls of the peo
ple. The superstition and wickedness of the church of
Rome, kept growing worse and worse until the very
time of the Reformation ; and the whole Christian world
were led away into this great defection, excepting the
remains of the Christian church in the Eastern empire
that had not been utterly overthrown by the Turks, as
the Greek church, and some others, which were also
sunk into great darkness and gross superstition, except
ing also those few that were the people of God, who are
represented by the woman in the wilderness, and God's
two witnesses, of which more hereafter.
This is one of those two great kingdoms which the
devil in this period erected in opposition to the kingdom
of Christ, and was the greatest and chief. I come now,
(2.) To speak of the other, the second, which is in
many respects like unto it, viz. his Mahometan kingdom,
which is another great kingdom of mighty power and
vast extent, set up by Satan against the kingdom of
Christ: he set this up in the Eastern empire, as he did
that of Antichrist in the Western.
Mahomet was born in the year of Christ, 570, in Ara
bia. When he was about forty years of age, he began
to give forth that he was the great prophet of God, and
began to teach his new invented religion, of which he
was to be worshipped as the head next under God. He
published his Alcoran, which he pretended he received
from the angel Gabriel ; and being a subtle, crafty man,
and possessed of considerable wealth, and living among
a people who were very ignorant, and greatly divided in
their opinions of religious matters, by subtlety, and fair
promises of a sensual paradise, he gained a number to
be his followers, and set up for their prince, and propa
gated his religion by the sword, and made it meritorious
WORK OP REDEMPTION. 269
of paradise to fight for him. By which means his party
grew, and went on fighting until they conquered and
brought over the neighbouring countries; and so his
party gradually grew until they overran a great part of
the world. First, the Saracens, who were some of his
followers, and were a people of the country of Arabia,
where Mahomet lived, about the year 700, began dread
fully to waste the Roman empire. They overran a great
many countries belonging to the empire, and continued
their conquests for a long time. These are supposed to
be meant by the * locusts' that we read of in the 9th chap
ter of Revelation.
And then after this the Turks, who were originally
another people, different from the Saracens, but were
followers of Mahomet, conquered all the Eastern empire.
They began their empire about the year of Christ 1296,
and began to invade Europe 1300, and took Constanti
nople, and so became masters of all the Eastern empire
in the year 1453, which is near three hundred years ago.
And thus all those cities and countries where were those
famous churches of old, that we read of in the New Tes
tament, as Jerusalem, Antioch, Ephesus, Corinth, &c.
now all became subject to the Turks. And they took
possession of Constantinople, which was named after
Constantine the Great, being made by him the head city
of the Roman empire, whereas Rome had been until
then. These are supposed to be prophesied of by the
* horsemen' in the 9th chapter of Revelation, beginning
with the 15th verse. And the remains of the Christians
that are in those parts of the world, who are mostly of
the Greek church, are in miserable slavery under these
Turks, and treated with a great deal of barbarity and
cruelty, and are become mostly very ignorant and su
perstitious.
Thus I have shown what great works of Satan were
wrought during this space of time in opposition to the
kingdom of Christ.
2. I come now to show how the church of Christ was
upheld through this dark time. — And here,
(1.) It is to be observed, that towards the former part
of this space of time, some of the nations of Christendom
held out a long time before they complied with the cor
ruptions and usurpations of the church of Rome. Though
all the world wondered after the beast, yet all nations
did not fall in at once. Many of the principal corrup
tions of the church of Rome were brought in with a
23*
270
A HISTORY OF THE
great deal of struggle and opposition ; and particularly,
when the Pope gave out, that he was universal bishop,
many churches greatly opposed him in it; and it was a
long time before they would yield to his exorbitant
claims. And so, when the worship of images was first
brought into the churches, there were many who greatly
opposed it, and long held out against it. And so with
respect to other corruptions of the church of Rome.
Those people that dwelt nearer to the city of Rome com
plied sooner, but some that were more remote, were a
long time before they could be induced to put their necks
under the yoke: and particularly ecclesiastical history
gives an account, that it was so with great part of the
churches in England, and Scotland, and France, who
retained the ancient purity of doctrine and worship much
longer than many others who were nearer the chief seat
of Antichrist.
(2.) In every age of this dark time, there appeared
particular persons in all parts of Christendom, who bore
a testimony against the corruptions and tyranny of the
church of Rome. There is no one age of Antichrist,
even in the darkest times of all, but ecclesiastical histo
rians mention great many by name who manifested an
abhorrence of the Pope, and his idolatrous worship, and
pleaded for the ancient purity of doctrine and worship.
God was pleased to maintain an uninterrupted succes
sion of witnesses through the whole time, in Germany,
France, Britain, and other countries; as historians de
monstrate, and mention them by name, and give an ac
count of the testimony which they held. Many of them
were private persons, and many of them ministers, and
some magistrates, and persons of great distinction. And
there were numbers in every age who were persecuted
and put to death for this testimony.
(3.) Besides these particular persons dispersed here
and there, there was a certain people, called the Wal-
denses, who lived separate from all the rest of the world,
who kept themselves pure, and constantly bore a testi
mony aerainst the church of Rome through all this dark
time. The place where they dwelt was the Vaudois, or
the five valleys of Piedmont, a very mountainous country,
between Italy and France. The place where they lived
was compassed about with those exceeding high moun
tains called the Alps, which were almost impassable.
The passage over these mountainous desert countries,
was so difficult, that the valleys where this people dwelt
WORK OP REDEMPTION. 27
were almost inaccessible. There this people lived for
many ages, as it were, alone, in a state of separation
from allthe world, having very little to do with any
other people. And there they served God in the ancient
purity of his worship, and never submitted to the church
of Rome. This place in this desert mountainous country,
probably was the place especially meant in the 12th
chapter of Revelation, 6th verse, as the place prepared
of God for the woman, that they should feed her there
during the reign of Antichrist
rne of the Popish writers themselves own, that that
people never submitted to the church of Rome. One of
the Popish writers, speaking of the Waldenses, says,
The heresy of the Waldenses is the oldest heresy in the
world. It is supposed that this people first betook them
selves to this desert secret place among the mountains,
to hide themselves from the severity of the heathen per
secutions which were before Constantine the Great.
And thus the woman fled into the wilderness from the
face of the serpent, Rev. xii. 6. And so, verse 14. " And
to the woman were given two wings of a great eagie,
that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place:
where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a
time, from the face of the serpent" And the people be
ing settled there, their posterity continued there from age
_re afterwards: and being, as it were, by natural
walls, as well as by God's izrace, separated from the rest
of the world, never partook of the overflowing corrup
tion.
These especially were those virgins who were not de
filed with the rest of women, or when other women pros
tituted themselves and were defiled ; but they kept them
selves pure for Christ alone: they followed the Lamb,
their spiritual husband, whithersoever he went: they fol
lowed him into this hideous wilderness, Rev. xiv. 4, 5. —
Their doctrine and their worship, as there still remain
accounts of them, appear to be the same with the Pro
testant doctrine and worship; and by the confession of
Popish writers, they were a people remarkable for the
strictness of their liv^s, for charity and other Christian
virtues. They lived in external poverty in this hideous
country ; but they chose this rather than to comply with
the great corruptions of the rest of the world.
They living in so secret a place, it was a lonsr time
before they seem to have been much taken notice of by
the Romanists; but at last falling under observation,
272 A HISTORY OF THE
they went out in mighty armies against them, and fell
upon them with insatiable cruelty, barbarously massa-
croing and putting to death men, women, and children,
with all imaginable tortures; and so continued perse
cuting them with but little intermission for several hun
dred years ; by which means many of them were driven
out of their old habitations in the valleys of Piedmont,
and fled into all parts of Europe, carrying with them
their doctrine, to which many were brought over. So
their persecutors could not by all their cruelties extir
pate the church of God; so fulfilling his word, "that the
gates of hell should not prevail against it."
(4.) Towards the latter part of this dark time, several
noted divines openly appeared to defend the truth, and
bear testimony against the corruptions of the church of
Rome, and had many followers. The first and principal
of these was a certain English divine, whose name was
John Wickliff, who appeared about 140 years before the
Reformation, and strenuously opposed the Popish reli
gion, and taught the same doctrine that the Reformers
afterwards did, and had many followers in England.
He was hotly persecuted in his lifetime, yet died in peace ;
and after he was buried, his bones were dug up by his
persecutors, and burnt. His followers remained in con
siderable numbers in England until the Reformation,
and were cruelly persecuted, and multitudes put to death
for their religion.
Wickliff had many disciples and followers, not only in
England, but in other parts of Europe, whither his books
were carried; and particularly in Bohemia, among
whom were two eminent divines, the name of one was
John Huss, the other's name was Jerome, a divine belong
ing to Prague, the chief city of Bohemia. These strenu
ously opposed the church of Rome, and had many who
adhered to them. They were both burnt by the Papists
for their doctrine; and their followers in Bohemia were
cruelly persecuted, but never extirpated until the Refor
mation.
Thus having gone through this dark time of the
church, which is the second part of the space from Con-
stantine the Great to the destruction of Antichrist, I come
now,
Sdly, To the third part, viz. that which begins with
the Reformation, and reaches to the present time. And
here I would, 1. Speak of the Reformation itself; 2. The
opposition which the devil has made to the Reformed
•\V011K OF REDEMPTION. 273
church ; S. What success there has lately been of the
gospel in one place and another; 4. What the state of
things is now in the world with regard to the church of
Christ, and the success of his purchase.
1. Here the first thing to be taken notice of is the Re
formation. This was begun about 220 years ago : iirst
in Saxony in Germany, by the preaching of Martin Lu
ther, who being stirred in his spirit, to see the horrid
practices of the Popish clergy, and having set himself
diligently to inquire after truth, by the study of the holy
scriptures, and the writings of the ancient fathers of the
church, very openly and boldly decried the corruptions
and usurpations of the Romish church in his preaching
and writings, and had soon a great number that fell in
with him; among whom was the Elector of Saxony, the
sovereign prince of the country to which he belonged.
This greatly alarmed the church of Rome; and it did as
it were rally all its force to oppose him and his doctrine,
and fierce wars and persecutions were raised against it :
but yet it went on by the labours of Luther and Melanc-
thon in Germany, and Zuinglius in Switzerland, and
other eminent divines, who were cotemporary with Lu
ther, and fell in with him; and particularly Calvin, who
appeared something after the beginning of the Reforma
tion, but was one of the most eminent Reformers.
Many of the princes of Germany soon fell in with the
Reformed religion, and many other states and kingdoms
in Europe, as England, Scotland, Sweden, Denmark,
Norway, great part of France, Poland, Lithuania, Switz
erland, and the Low Countries. So that it is thought,
that heretofore about half Christendom were of the Pro
testant religion ; though, since, the Papists have gained
ground : so that the Protestants now have not so great
a proportion.
Thus God began gloriously to revive his church again,
and advance the kingdom of his Son, after such a dismal
night of darkness as had been before from the rise of
Antichrist to that time. There had been many endeav
ours used by the witnesses for the truth for a reforma
tion before. But now, when God's appointed time was
come, his work was begun, and went on with a swift
and wonderful progress ; and Antichrist, who had been
rising higher and higher from his very first beginning
until that time, was swiftly and suddenly brought down,
and fell halfway towards utter ruin, and never has been
able to rise again to his former height. A certain very
274 A HISTORY OF THE
late expositor (Mr. Lowman) who explains the first five
vials in the 16th chapter of Revelation, with greater
probability perhaps than any who went before him, ex
plains the fifth vial, which was poured out on the seat of
the beast, of what came to pass in the Reformation ; ex
plaining the four preceding vials of certain great judg
ments God brought on the Popish dominions before the
Reformation. It is said, Rev. xvi. 10. that "the fifth an
gel poured out his vial on the seat of the beast ;" in the
original, it is the throne of the beast ; "and his kingdom
was full of darkness, and they gnawed their tongues for
pain, and blasphemed the God of heaven because'of their
pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds."
He poured out his vial upon the throne of the beast, i. e.
on the authority and dominion of the Pope: so the word
throne is often used in scripture ; so 1 Kings i. 37. " As
the Lord hath been with my lord the king, even so be he
with Solomon, and make his throne greater than the
throne of my lord King David;" i. e. make his dominion
and authority greater, and his kingdom more glorious.
But now, in the Reformation, the vials of God's wrath
were poured out on the throne of the beast. His throne
was terribly shaken and diminished. The Pope's au
thority and dominion was greatly diminished, both as to
the extent and degree. He lost, as was said before,
about half his dominions. And besides, since the Refor
mation, the Pope has lost great part of that authority,
even in the Popish dominions, which he had before. He
is not regarded, and his power is dreaded in no measure
as it was wont to be. The powers of Europe have
learned not to put their necks under the Pope's feet, as
formerly they were wont to do. So that he is as a lion
that has lost his teeth, in comparison of what he was
once. And when the Pope and his clergy, enraged to
see their authority so diminished at the Reformation, laid
their heads together, and joined their forces to destroy
the Reformation ; their policy, which was wont to serve
them so well, failed ; and they found their kingdom full
of darkness, so that they could do nothing, any more
than the Egyptians, who rose not from their seats for
three days. The Reformed church was defended as Lot
and the angels were in Sodom, by smiting the Sodomites
with darkness or blindness, that they could not find the
door. God then fulfilled that in Job v. 11. &c. "To set
up on high those that be low ; that those which mourn
may be exalted to safety. He disappointeth the devices
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 275
of the crafty, so that their hands cannot perform theii
enterprise. He taketh the wise in their own craftiness:
and the counsel of the froward is carried headlong.
They meet with darkness in the day time, and grope in
the noon day as in the night. But he saveth the poor
from the sword, from their mouth, and from the hand of
the mighty."
Those proud enemies of God's people being so disap
pointed, and finding themselves so unable to uphold
their own dominion and authority, this made them as it
were to gnaw their tongues for pain, or bite their tongues
for mere rage.
2. I proceed therefore to show what opposition has
been made to this success of Christ's purchase by the
Reformation by Satan and his adherents ; observing, as
we go along, how far they have been baffled, and how
far they have been successful.
The opposition which Satan has made against the Re
formed religion has been principally of the following
kinds, viz. that which was made, 1. By a general coun
cil of the church of Rome; 2. By secret plots and de
vices; 3. By open wars and invasions; 4. By cruel op
pression and persecution; and 5. By bringing in cor
rupt opinions.
(1.) The first opposition that I shall take notice of is
that which was made by the clergy of the church of
Rome uniting together in a general council. This was
the famous council of Trent, which the Pope called a
little while after the Reformation. In that council, there
met together six cardinals, thirty-two archbishops, two
hundred and twenty-eight bishops, besides innumerable
others of the Romish clergy. This council, in all their
sittings, including the times of intermission between
their sittings, was held for twenty-five years together.
Their main business all this while was to concert mea
sures for establishing the church of Rome against the
Reformers, and for destroying the Reformation. But it
proved that they were not able to perform their enter
prise. The Reformed church, notwithstanding their
holding so great a council, and for so long a time to
gether against it, remained, and remains still. So that
the counsel of the froward is carried headlong, and their
kingdom is full of darkness, and they weary themselves
to find the door.
Thus the church of Rome, instead of repenting of their
deeds, when such clear light was held forth to them by
276 A HISTORY OF THE
Luther, and other servants of God, the Reformers, does,
by general agreement in council, persist in their vile cor
ruptions and wickedness, and obstinate opposition to the
kingdom of Christ. The doctrines and practices of the
church of Rome, which were chiefly condemned by the
Reformed, were confirmed by the decrees of their coun
cil ; and the corruptions, in many respects, were carried
higher than ever before; and they uttered blasphemous
reproaches and curses against the Reformed religion,
and all the Reformed church was excommunicated and
anathematized by them; and so, according to the pro
phecy, "they blasphemed God." Thus God hardened
their hearts, intending to destroy them.
(2.) The Papists have often edeavoured to overthrow
the Reformation by secret plots and conspiracies. So
there were many plots against the life of Luther. The
Papists were engaged in contriving to dispatch him, and
to put him out of their way; and he, as he was a very
bold man, often very much exposed himself in the cause
of Christ: but yet they were wonderfully prevented
from hurting him, and he at last died in his bed in peace.
And so there have been from time to time innumerable
schemes secretly laid for the overthrow of the Protestant
religion ; among which, that which seems to be most
considerable, and which seemed to be the most likely to
have taken effect, was that which was in the time of
King James II. of England, which is within the memory
of many of us. There was at that time a strong con
spiracy between the King of England and Lewis XIV.
of France, who were both Papists, to extirpate the North
ern heresy, as they called the Protestant religion, not
only out of England, but out of all Europe; and had laid
their schemes so, that they seemed to be almost sure of
their purpose. They looked upon it, that if the Reform
ed religion were suppressed in the British realms, and in
the Netherlands, which were the strongest part, and
chief defence of the Protestant interest, they should have
easy work with the rest. And just as their matters
seemed to be come to a head, and their enterprise ripe
for execution, God, in his providence, suddenly dashed
all their schemes in pieces by the Revolution, at the com
ing in of King William and' Queen Mary; by which all
their designs were at an end ; and the Protestant inter
est was more strongly established, by the crown of Eng
land's being established in the Protestant house of Han-
Over, and a Papist being, by the constitution of the na-
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 277
tion, for ever rendered incapable of wearing the crown
of England. Thus they groped in darkness at noon day
as in the night, and their hands could not perform their
enterprise, and their kingdom was full of darkness, and
they gnawed their tongues for pain.
After this, there was a deep design laid to bring the
same thing to pass in the latter end of Queen Anne's
reign, by the bringing in of the Popish pretender; which
was no less suddenly and totally baffled by divine Pro
vidence ; as the plots against the Reformation, by bring
ing in the pretender, have been from time to time.
(3.) The Reformation has often been opposed by open
wars and invasions. So in the beginning- of the Refor
mation, the Emperor of Germany, to suppress the Refor
mation, declared war with the Duke of Saxony, and the
principal men who favoured and received Luther's doc
trine. But they could not obtain their end ; they could
not suppress the Reformation. For the same end, the
King of Spain maintained a long war with Holland and
the Low Countries in the century before last. But those
cruel wars issued greatly to the disadvantage of the Ro
mish church, as they occasioned the setting up of one of
the most powerful Protestant states in Europe, which,
next to Great Britain, is the chief barrier of the Protes
tant religion. And the design of the Spanish invasion
of England in Queen Elizabeth's time, was to suppress
and root out the Reformed religion ; and therefore they
brought in their fleet all manner of instruments of cruelty
wherewith to torture the Protestants who would not re
nounce the Protestant religion. But their design was
totally baffled, and their mighty fleet in a great measure
ruined.
(4.) Satan has opposed the Reformation with cruel
persecutions. The persecutions with which the Protes
tants in one kingdom and another have been persecuted
by the church of Rome, have in many respects been far
beyond any of the heathen persecutions which were be
fore Constantine the Great, and beyond all that ever
were before. So that Antichrist has proved the greatest
and cruelest enemy to the church of Christ that ever was
in the world, in this, as well as in all other respects;
agreeable to the description given of the church of Rome,
Rev. xvii. 6. "And I saw the woman drunken with the
blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of
Jesus." And, chap, xviii. 24. "And on her was found
24
278 A HISTORY OF THE
the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all them that
were slain upon the earth."
The heathen persecutions had been very dreadful : but
now persecution by the church of Rome was improved,
and studied, and cultivated, as an art or science. Such
ways of afflicting and tormenting were found out, as are
beyond the thought and invention of ordinary men, or
men who are unstudied in those things, and beyond the
invention of all former ages. And that persecution
might be managed the more effectually, there were cer
tain societies of men established in various parts of the
Popish dominions, whose business it should be to study,
and improve, and practise persecution in its highest per
fection, which are those societies called the courts of in
quisition. A reading of the particular histories of the
Romish persecution, and their courts of inquisition, will
give that idea which a few words cannot express.
When the Reformation began, the beast with seven
heads and ten horns began to rage in a dreadful man
ner. After the Reformation, the church of Rome renew
ed its persecution of the poor Waldenses, and great mul
titudes of them were cruelly tortured and put to death.
Soon after the Reformation, there were terrible persecu
tions in various parts of Germany ; and especially in Bo
hemia, which lasted for thirty years together ; in which
so much blood was shed for the sake of religion, that a
certain writer compares it to the plenty of waters of the
great rivers of Germany. The countries of Poland, Li
thuania, and Hungary, were in like manner deluged with
Protestant blood.
By means of these and other cruel persecutions, the
Protestant religion was in a great measure suppressed
in Bohemia, and the Palatinate, and Hungary, which be
fore were as it were Protestant countries. Thus was
fulfilled what was foretold of the little horn, Dan. vii. 20,
21. " — and of the ten horns that were in his head, and
of the other which came up, and before whom three fell,
even of that horn that had eyes, and a mouth that spake
very great things, whose look was more stout than his
fellows. I beheld, and the same horn made war with
the saints, and prevailed against them." And what was
foretold of the beast having seven heads and ten horns,
Rev. xiii. 7. " And it was given unto him to make war
with the saints, and to overcome them : and power was
given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations."
Also Holland and the other Low Countries were for
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 270
many years a scene of nothing but the most affecting
and amazing cruelties, being deluged with the blood of
Protestants, under the merciless hands of the Spaniards,
to whom they were then in subjection. But in this per
secution, the devil in a great measure failed of his pur
pose ; as it issued in a great part of the Netherlands
casting off the Spanish yoke, and setting up a wealthy
and powerful Protestant state, to the great defence of the
Protestant cause ever since.
France also is another country, which, since the Re
formation, in some respects, perhaps more than any
other, has been a scene of dreadful cruelties suffered by
the Protestants there. After many cruelties had been
exercised towards the Protestants in that kingdom, there
was begun a persecution of them in the year 1571, in the
reign of Charles IX. King of France. It began with a
cruel massacre, wherein 70,000 Protestants were slain in
a few days' time, as the King boasted: and in all this
persecution, he slew, as is supposed, 300,000 martyrs.
And it is reckoned, that about this time, within thirty
years, there were martyred in this kingdom, for the
Protestant religion, 39 princes, 148 counts, 234 barons,
147,518 gentlemen, and 760,000 of the common people.
But all these persecutions were, for exquisite cruelty,
far exceeded by those which followed in the reign of
Lewis XIV. which indeed are supposed to exceed all
others that ever have been; and being long continued,
by reason of the long reign of that king, almost wholly
extirpated the Protestant religion out of that kingdom,
where had been before a multitude of famous Protestant
churches all over the kingdom. Thus it was given to
the beast to make war with the saints, and to overcome
them.
There was also a terrible persecution in England in
dueen Mary's time, wherein great numbers in all parts
of the kingdom were burnt alive. And after this, though
the Protestant religion has been for the most part estab
lished by law in England, yet there have been very se
vere persecutions by the high churchmen, who symbol
ize in many things with the Papists. Such a persecu
tion was that which occasioned our forefathers to flee
from their native country, and to come and settle in this
land, which was then a hideous howling wilderness.
And these persecutions were continued with little inter
mission until King William came to the throne.
Scotland has also been the scene, for many years
280 A HISTORY OF THE
together, of cruelties and blood by the hands of high
churchmen, such as came very little short of the Popish
persecution in Queen Mary's days, and in many things
much exceeded it, which continued until they were de
livered by King William.
Ireland also has been as it were overwhelmed with
Protestant blood. In the days of King Charles I. of Eng
land, above 200,000 Protestants were cruelly murdered
in that kingdom in a few days; the Papists, by a secret
agreement, rising all over the kingdom at an appointed
time, intending to kill every Protestant in the kingdom
at once.
Besides these, there have been very cruel persecutions
in Italy, and Spain, and other places, which I shall not
stand to relate.
Thus did the devil, and. his great minister Antichrist,
rage with such violence and cruelty against the church
of Christ ; and thus did the whore of Babylon make her
self drunk with the blood of the saints and martyrs of
Jesus; and thus, by these persecutions, the Protestant
church has been much diminished ! Yet with all have
they not been able to prevail ; but still the Protestant
church is upheld, and Christ fulfils his promise, that " the
gates of hell shall not prevail against his church."
(5.) The last kind of opposition that Satan has made
to the Reformation is by corrupt opinions. Satan has
opposed the light of the gospel which shone forth in the
Reformation, with many corrupt opinions, which he has
brought in and propagated in the world.
And here, in the first place, the first opposition of this
kind was by raising up the sect of the Anabaptists,
which began about four or five years after the Reforma
tion itself began. This sect, as it first appeared in Ger
many, were vastly more extravagant than the present
Anabaptists are in England. They held a great many
exceeding corrupt opinions. One tenet of theirs was,
That there ought to be no civil authority, and so that it
was lawful to rebel against civil authority. And on this
principle, they refused to submit to magistrates, or any
human laws ; and gathered together in vast armies, to
defend themselves against their civil rulers, and put all
Germany into an uproar, and so kept it for some time.
The next opposition of this kind to the Reformation
was that which was made by enthusiasts. Those are
called enthusiasts who falsely pretend to be inspired by
the Holy Ghost as the prophets were. These began in
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 281
Germany about ten years after Luther began the Refor
mation; and there arose various sects of them who were
exceeding wild and extravagant. The followers of these
are the Quakers in England, and other parts of the British
dominions.
The next to these were the Socinians, who had their
beginning chiefly in Poland, by the teaching of two men ;
the name of the one was Laslius Socinus, of the other,
Faustus Socinus. They held, that Christ was a mere
man, and denied Christ's satisfaction, and most of the
fundamental doctrines of the Christian religion. Their
heresy has since been greatly propagated among Protes
tants in Poland, Germany, Holland, England, and other
places.
After these arose the Arminians. These first appear
ed in Holland about 130 years ago. They take their
name from a Dutchman, whose name was Jacobus Van
Harmin, which, turned into Latin, is called Jacobus Ar-
minius; and from his name the whole sect are called
Arminians. This Jacobus Arminius was first a minister
at Amsterdam, and then a professor of divinity in the
university of Leyden. He had many followers in Hol
land. There was upon this a synod of all the Reformed
churches called together, who met at Dort in Holland.
The synod of Dort condemned them; but yet they
spread and prevailed. They began to prevail in Eng
land in the reign of Charles I. especially in the church of
England. The church of England divines before that
were almost universally Calvinists : but since that, Ar-
miriianism has gradually more and more prevailed, until
they are become almost universally Arminians. And
not only so, but Arminianism has greatly prevailed
among the Dissenters, and has spread greatly in New
England, as well as Old.
Since this, Arianism has been revived. As I told you
before, Arianism, a little after Constantine's time, almost
swallowed up the Christian world, like a flood out of the
mouth of the serpent which threatened to swallow up
the woman. And of late years, this heresy has been re
vived in England, and greatly prevails there, both in the
church of England, and among Dissenters. These hold,
that Christ is but a mere creature, though they grant
that he is the greatest of all creatures.
Again, another thing which has of late exceedingly
prevailed among Protestants, and especially in England,
is Deism. The Deists wholly cast off the Christian re-
24*
282 A HISTORY OF THE
ligion, and are professed infidels. They are not like the
heretics, Arians, Socinians, and others, who own the
scriptures to be the word of God, and hold the Christian
religion to be the true religion, but only deny these and
these fundamental doctrines of the Christian religion :
they deny the whole Christian religion. Indeed they
own the being of God ; but deny that Christ was the son
of God, and say he was a mere cheat ; and so they say
all the prophets and apostles were : and they deny the
whole scripture. They deny that any of it is the word
of God. They deny any revealed religion, or any word
of God at all; and say, that God has given mankind no
other light to walk by but their own reason. These sen
timents and opinions our nation, which is the principal
nation of the Reformation, is very much overrun with,
and they prevail more and more.
Thus much concerning the opposition that Satan has
made against the Reformation.
3. I proceed now to show what success the gospel
has more lately had, or what success it has had in these
later times of the Reformed church. This success may
be reduced to these three heads : 1. Reformation in doc
trine and worship in countries called Christian ; 2. Pro
pagation of the gospel among the heathen ; 3. Revival
of religion in the power and practice of it.
(1.) As to the first, viz. reformation in doctrine, the
most considerable success of the gospel that has been of
late of this kind, has been in the empire of Muscovy,
which is a country of vast extent. The people of this
country, so many of them as call themselves Christians,
professed to be of the Greek church ; but were barbar
ously ignorant, and very superstitious, until of late
years. Their late Emperor Peter the Great, who reigned
until within these twenty years, set himself to reform the
people of his dominions, and took great pains to bring
them out of their darkness, and to have them instructed
in religion. And to that end, he set up schools of learn
ing, and ordered the Bible to be printed in the language
of the country, and made a law that every family should
keep the holy scriptures in their houses, and that every
person should be able to read the same, and that no per
son should be allowed to marry until they were able to
read the scriptures. He also reformed the churches of
his country in many of their superstitions, whereby the
religion professed and practised in Muscovy is much
nearer to that of the Protestants than formerly it used to
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 283
be. This emperor gave great encouragement to the ex
ercise of the Protestant religion in his dominions. And
since that Muscovy has become a land of light, in com
parison of what it was before. Wonderful alterations
have been brought about in the face of religion for the
better within these fifty years past.
(2.) As to the second kind of success which the gospel
has lately had, viz. its propagation among the heathen, I
would take notice of three things.
[1.] The propagation there has been of the gospel
among the heathen here in America. This American
continent on which we live, which is a very great part
of the world, and, together with its neighbouring seas ad
joining, takes up one side of the globe, was wholly un
known to all Christian nations until these latter times.
It was not known that there was any such part of the
world, though it was very full of people : and therefore
here the devil had the people that inhabited this part of
the world as it were secure to himself, out of the reach
of the light of the gospel, and so out of the way of mo
lestation in his dominion over them. And here the many
nations of Indians worshipped him as God from age to
age, while the gospel was confined to the opposite side
of the globe. It is a thing which, if I remember right, I
have some where lit of, as probably supposed from some
remaining accounts of things, that the occasion of the
first peopling of America was this, that the devil being
alarmed and surprised by the wonderful success of the
gospel which there was the first three hundred years af
ter Christ, and by the downfall of the heathen empire in
the time of Constantine, and seeing the gospel spread
so fast, and fearing that his heathenish kingdom would
be wholly overthrown through the world, led away a
people from the other continent into America, that they
might be quite out of the reach of the gospel, that here
he might quietly possess them, and reign over them as
their god. It is what many writers give an account of,
that some of the nations of Indians, when the Europe
ans first came into America, had a tradition among them,
that their god first led them into this continent, and went
before them in an ark.
Whether this was so or not, yet it is certain that the
devil did here quietly enjoy his dominion over the poor
nations of Indians for many ages. But in later times
God has sent the gospel into these parts of the world, and
now the Christian church is set up here in New England,
284 A HISTORY OF THE
and in other parts of America, where before had been
nothing but the grossest heathenish darkness. Great
part of America is now full of Bibles, and full of at least
the form of the worship of the true God and Jesus Christ,
where the name of Christ before had not been heard of
for many ages, if at all. And though there has been but
a small propagation of the gospel among the heathen
here, in comparison of what were to be wished for ; yet
there has been something worthy to be taken notice of.
There was something remarkable in the first times of
New England, and something remarkable has appeared
of late here, and in other parts of America among many
Indians, of an inclination to be instructed in the Chris
tian religion.
And however small the propagation of the gospel
among the heathen here in America has been hitherto,
yet I think we may well look upon the discovery of so
great a part of the world as America, and bringing the
gospel into it, as one thing by which divine Providence
is preparing the way for the future glorious times of the
church ; when Satan's kingdom shall be overthrown, not
only throughout the Roman empire, but throughput the
whole habitable globe, on every side, and on all its con
tinents. When those times come, then doubtless the
gospel, which is already brought over into America, shall
have glorious success, and all the inhabitants of this new
discovered world shall become subjects of the kingdom
of Christ, as well as all the other ends of the earth : and
in all probability Providence has so ordered it, that the
mariner's compass, which is an invention of later times,
whereby men are enabled to sail over the widest ocean,
when before they durst not venture far from land, should
prove a preparation for what God intends to bring to
pass in the glorious times of the church, viz. the sending
forth the gospel wherever any of the children of men
dwell, how far soever off, and however separated by wide
oceans from those parts of the world which are already
Christianized.
[2.] There has of late years been a very considerable
propagation of the gospel among the heathen in the do
minions of Muscovy. I have already observed the refor
mation which there has lately been among those who are
called Christians there : but I now speak of the heathen.
Great part of the vast dominions of the Emperor of
Muscovy, are gross heathens. The greater part of Great
Tartary, a heathen country, has in later times been
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 285
brought under the Muscovite government; and there
have been of late great numbers of those heathen who
have renounced their heathenism, and have embraced
the Christian religion.
[3.] There has been lately a very considerable propa
gation of the Christian religion among the heathen in the
East Indies ; particularly, many in a country in the East
Indies called Malabar, have been brought over to the
Christian Protestant religion, chiefly by the labours of
certain missionaries sent thither to instruct them by the
King of Denmark, who have brought over many hea
thens to the Christian faith, and have set up schools
among them, and a printing press to print Bibles and
other books for their instruction, in their own language,
with great success.
(3.) The last kind of success which there has lately
been of the gospel, which I shall take notice of, is the
revivals of the power and practice of religion which
have lately been. And here I shall take notice of but two
instances.
[1.] There has not long since been a remarkable revi
val of the power and practice of religion in Saxony in
Germany, through the endeavours of an eminent divine
there, whose name was August Herman Franke, profes
sor of divinity at Halle in Saxony, who being a person of
eminent charity, the great work that God wrought by
him, began with his setting on foot a charitable design.
It began only with his placing an alms box at his study
door, into which some poor mites were thrown, whereby
books were bought for the instruction of the poor. And
God was pleased so wonderfully to smile on his design,
and so to pour out a spirit of charity on people there on
that occasion, that with their chanty he was enabled in a
little time to erect public schools for the instruction of
poor children, and an orphan house for the supply and
instruction of the poor ; so that at last it came to that,
that near five hundred children were maintained and in
structed in learning and piety by the charity of others;
and the number continued to increase more and more
for many years, and until the last account I have seen.
This was accompanied with a wonderful reformation and
revival of religion, and a spirit of piety, in the city and
university of Halle ; and thus it continued. Which also
had great influence in many other places in Germany.
Their example seemed remarkably to stir up multitudes
to their imitation.
286 A HISTORY OF THE
[2.] Another thing-, which it would be ungrateful in us
not to take notice of, is that remarkable pouring out of
the Spirit of God which has been of late in this part of
New England, of which we, in this town, have had such
a share. But it is needless for me particularly to describe
it, it being what you have so lately been eye witnesses
to, and I hope multitudes of you sensible of the bene
fit of.
Thus I have mentioned the more remarkable instan
ces of the success which the gospel has lately had in the
world.
4. I proceed now to the last thing that was proposed
to be considered relating to the success of Christ's re
demption during this space, viz. what the state of things
is now in the world with regard to the church of Christ,
and the success of Christ's purchase. And this I would
do, by showing how things are now compared with the
first times of the Reformation. And, 1. I would show
wherein the state of things is altered for the worse ; and,
2. How it is altered for the better.
(1) I would show wherein the state of things is altered
from what it was in the beginning of the Reformation,
for the worse ; and it is so especially in these three re
spects.
[I.] The Reformed church is much diminished. The
Reformation in the former times of it, as was observed
before, was supposed to take place through one half of
Christendom, excepting the Greek church ; or that there
were as many Protestants as Papists. But now it is not
so ; the Protestant church is much diminished. Hereto
fore there have been multitudes of Protestants in France ;
many famous Protestant churches were all over that
country, who used to meet together in synods, and
maintain a very regular discipline ; and great part of
that kingdom were Protestants. The Protestant church
of France was a great part of the glory of the Reforma
tion. But now it is far otherwise : this church is all bro
ken to pieces and scattered. The Protestant religion is
almost wholly rooted out of that kingdom by the cruel
persecutions which have been there, and there are now
but very few Protestant assemblies in all that kingdom.
The Protestant interest is also greatly diminished in Ger
many. There were several sovereign princes there for
merly who were Protestants, whose successors are now
Papists; as, particularly, the Elector Palatine, and the
Elector of Saxony. The kingdom of Bohemia was for-
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 287
merly a Protestant kingdom, but is now in the hands of
the Papists : and so Hungary was formerly a Protestant
country, but the Protestants there have been greatly re
duced, and in a great measure subdued, by the persecu
tions that have been there. And the Protestant interest
has no way remarkably gained ground of late of the
church of Rome.
[•2.] Another thing wherein the state of things is alter
ed for the worse from what was in the former times of
the Reformation, is the prevailing of licentiousness in
principles and opinions. There is not now that spirit of
orthodoxy which there was then : there is very little ap
pearance of zeal for the mysterious and spiritual doc
trines of Christianity ; and they never were so ridiculed,
and had in contempt, as they are in the present age;
and especially in England, the principal kingdom of the
Reformation. In this kingdom, those principles, on
which the power of godliness depends, are in a great
measure exploded, and Arianism, and Socinianism, and
Arminianism, and Deism, are the things which prevail,
and carry almost all before them. And particularly his
tory gives.no account of any age wherein there was so
great an apostasy of those who had been brought up un
der the light of the gospel, to infidelity; never was there
such a casting off of the Christian and all revealed reli
gion ; never any age wherein was so much scoffing at
and ridiculing the gospel of Christ, by those who have
been brought up under gospel light, nor any thing like
it, as there is at this day.
[3.] Another thing wherein things are altered for the
worse, is, that there is much less of the prevalency of the
power of godliness, than there was at the beginning of
the Reformation. There was a glorious outpouring of
the Spirit of God that accompanied the first Reformation,
not only to convert multitudes in so short a time from
Popery to the true religion, but to turn many to God and
true godliness. Religion gloriously flourished in one
country and another, as most remarkably appeared in
those times of terrible persecution, which have already
been spoken of. But now there is an exceeding great
decay of vital piety ; yea, it seems to be despised, called
enthusiasm, whimsy, and fanaticism. Those who are
truly religious, are commonly looked upon to be crack-
brained, and beside their right mind ; and vice and pro-
faneness dreadfully prevail, like a flood which threatens
to bear down all before it.— But I proceed now to show,
xiao A HISTORY OF THE
(2.) In what respect things are altered for the better
from what they were in the first Reformation.
[1.] The power and influence of the Pope is much di
minished. Although, since the former times of the Re
formation, he has gained ground in extent of dominion ;
yet he has lost in degree of influence. The vial which
in the beginning of the Reformation was poured out on
the throne of the beast, to the great diminishing of his
power and authority in the world, has continued running
ever since. The Pope, soon after the Reformation, be
came less regarded by the princes of Europe than he had
been before; and so he has been since less and less.
Many of the Popish princes themselves seem now to re
gard him very little more than they think will serve their
own designs; of which there have been several remark
able proofs and instances of late.
[2.] There is far less persecution now than there was
in the first times of the Reformation. You have heard
already how dreadfully persecution raged in the former
times of the Reformation; and there is something of it
still. Some parts of the Protestant church are at this
day under persecution, and so probably will be until the
day of the church's suffering and travail is at an end,
which will not be until the fall of Antichrist. But it is
now in no measure as it was heretofore. There does
not seem to be the same spirit of persecution prevailing;
it is become more out of fashion even among the Popish
princes. The wickedness of the enemies of Christ, and
the opposition against his cause, seem to run in another
channel. The humour now is, to despise and laugh at
all religion ; and there seems to be a spirit of indiffer-
ency about it. However, so far the state of things is
better than it has been, that there is so much less of per
secution.
[3.] There is a great increase of learning. In the dark
times of Popery before the Reformation, learning was so
far decayed, that the world seemed to be overrun with
barbarous ignorance. Their'Very priests were many
of them grossly ignorant. Learning began to revive
with the Reformation, which was owing very much to
the art of printing, which was invented a little before the
Reformation ; and since that, learning has increased
more and more, and at this day is undoubtedly raised to
vastly a greater height than ever it was before: and
though no good use is made of it by the greater part of
learned men, yet the increase of learning in itself is a
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 289
thing to be rejoiced in, because it is a good, and, if duly
applied, an excellent handmaid to divinity, and is a
talent which, if God gives men a heart, affords them a
great advantage to do great things for the advancement
of the kingdom of Christ, and the good of the souls of
men. That learning and knowledge should greatly in
crease before the glorious times, seems to be foretold,
Dan. xii. 4. "But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and
seal the book, even to the time of the end : many shall
run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased." And
however little now learning is applied to the advance
ment of religion ; yet we may hope that the days are
approaching wherein God will make great use of it for
the advancement of the kingdom of Christ.
God in his providence now seems to be acting over
again the same part which he did a little before Christ
came. The age wherein Christ came into the world,
was an age wherein learning greatly prevailed, and was
at a greater height than ever it had been before ; and
yet wickedness never prevailed more than then. God
was pleased to suffer human learning to come to such a
height before he sent forth the gospel into the world, that
the world might see the insufficiency of all their own
wisdom for the obtaining the knowledge of God, without
the gospel of Christ, and the teachings of his Spirit: and
then, after that, in the wisdom of God, the world by wis
dom knew not God, it pleased God, by the foolishness
of preaching, to save them that believe. And when the
gospel came to prevail first without the help of man's
wisdom, then God was pleased to make use of learning
as an handmaid. So now learning is at a great height
at this day in the world, far beyond what it was in the
age when Christ appeared ; and now the world, by their
learning and wisdom, do not know God ; and they seem
to wander in darkness, are miserably deluded, stumble
and fall in matters of religion, as in midnight darkness.
Trusting to their learning, they grope in the day time as
in the night. Learned men are exceedingly divided in
their opinions concerning the matters of religion, run
into all manner of corrupt opinions, and pernicious and
foolish errors. They scorn to submit their reason to di
vine revelation, to believe any thing that is above their
comprehension ; and so being wise in their own eyes,
they become fools, and even vain in their imaginations,
and turn the truth of God into a lie, and their foolish
hearts are darkened. See Rom. i. 21. &c.
25
290 A HISTORY OF THE
But yet, when God has sufficiently shown men the in
sufficiency of human wisdom and learning for the pur
poses of religion, and when the appointed time comes for
that glorious outpouring of the Spirit of God, when he
will himself by his own immediate influence enlighten
men's minds ; then may we hope that God will make
use of the great increase of learning as an handmaid to
religion, as a means of the glorious advancement of the
kingdom of his Son. Then shall human learning be sub
servient to the understanding of the scriptures, and to a
clear explanation and a glorious defence of the doctrines
of Christianity. And there is no doubt to be made of it,
that God in his providence has of late given the world
the art of printing, and such a great increase of learning,
to prepare for what he designs to accomplish for his
church in the approaching days of its prosperity. And
thus the wealth of the wicked is laid up for the just,
agreeable to Prov. xiii. 22.
Having now shown how the work of redemption has
been carried on from the fall of man to the present time,
before I proceed any further, I would make some Appli
cation.
1. From what has been said, we may see great evi
dence of the truth of the Christian religion, and that the
scriptures are the word of God. There are three argu
ments of this, which I shall take notice of, which may be
drawn from what has been said.
(1.) It may be argued from that violent and inveterate
opposition there has always appeared of the wickedness
of the world against this religion. The religion that the
church of God has professed from the first founding of
the church after the fall to this time, has always been the
same. Though the dispensations have been altered, yet
the religion which the church has professed has always,
as to its essentials, been the same. The church of God,
from the beginning, has been one society. The Christ
ian church which has been since Christ's ascension, is
manifestly the same society continued with the church,
that was before Christ came. The Christian church is
grafted on their root: they are built on thesame founda
tion. The revelation on which both have depended, is
essentially the same : for as the Christian church is built
on the holy scriptures, so was the Jewish church, though
now the scriptures be enlarged by the addition of the
New Testament; but still it is essentially the same reve
lation with that which was given in the Old Testament
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 291
only the subjects of divine revelation are now more
clearly revealed in the New Testament than they were
in the" Old. But the sum and substance of both the Old
Testament and New, is Christ and his redemption. The
religion of the church of Israel, was essentially the same
religion with that of the Christian church, as evidently
appears from what has been said. The ground work of
the religion of the church of God, both before and since
Christ has appeared, is the same great scheme of redemp
tion by the Son of God ; and so the church that was be
fore the Israelitish church, was still the same society, and
it was essentially the same religion that was professed
and practised in it. Thus it was from Noah to Abraham,
and thus it was before the flood. And this society of
men that is called the church, has always been built on
the foundation of those revelations which we have in the
scriptures, which have always been essentially the same,
though gradually increasing. The church before the
flood, was built on the foundation of those revelations
of Christ which were given to Adam, and Abel, and
Enoch, of which we have an account in the former chap
ters of Genesis, and others of the like import. The
church after the flood, was built on the foundation of the
revelations made to Noah and Abraham, to Melchise-
dec, Isaac, and Jacob, to Joseph, Job, and other holy
men of whom we have an account in the scriptures, or
other revelations that were to the same purpose. And
after this the church depended on the scriptures them
selves as they gradually increased ; so that the church
of God has always been bu,'U on the foundations of di
vine revelation, and always on those revelations that
were essentially the same, and which are summarily
comprehended in the holy scriptures, and ever since
about Moses' time have been built on the scriptures
themselves.
So that the opposition which lias been made to the
church of God in all ages, has always been against the
same religion, and the same revelation. Now therefore
the violent and perpetual opposition that has ever been
made by the corruption and wickedness of mankind
against this church, is a strong argument of the truth of
this religion, and this revelation, upon which the church
has always been built. Contraries are well argued one
from another. We may well and safely argue, that a
thing is good, according to the degree of opposition in
which it stands to evil, or the degree in which evil or>
292 A HISTORY OF THE
poses it, and is an enemy to it. We may well argue,
that a thing is light, by the great enmity which darkness
has to it. Now it is evident, by the things which you
have heard concerning the church of Christ, and that
holy religion of Jesus Christ which it has professed, that
the wickedness of the world has had a perpetual hatred
to it, and has made most violent opposition against it.
That the church of God has always met with great
opposition in the world, none can deny. This is plain
by profane history as far as that reaches ; and before
that, divine history gives us the same account. The
church of God, and its religion and worship, began to be
opposed in Cain's and Abel's time, and was so when the
earth was filled with violence in Noah's time. And af
ter this, how was the church opposed in Egypt ! and
how was the church of Israel always hated by the na
tions round about, agreeable to that in Jer. xii. 9. " Mine
heritage is unto me as a speckled bird, the birds round
about are against her." And after the Babylonish cap
tivity, how "was this church persecuted by Antiochus
Epiphanes and others ! and how was Christ persecuted
when he was on earth ! and how were the apostles and
other Christians persecuted by the Jews before the de
struction of Jerusalem by the Romans ! How violent
were that people against the church ! and how dreadful
was the opposition of the heathen world against the
Christian church after this before Constantine! How
great was their spite against the true religion ! And
since that, how yet more violent, and spiteful, and cruel,
has been the opposition of Antichrist against the
church !
There is no other such instance of opposition. His
tory gives no account of any other body of men that
have been so hated, and so maliciously and insatiably
pursued and persecuted, nor any thing like it. No other
religion ever was so maligned age after age. The na
tions of other professions have enjoyed their religions in
peace and quietness, however they have differed from
their neighbours. One nation has worshipped one sort
of gods, and others another, without molesting or dis
turbing one another about it. All the spite and opposi
tion has been against this religion which the church of
Christ has professed. All other religions have seemed to
show an implacable enmity to this; and men have
seemed to have, from one age to another, such a spite
against it, that they have seemed as though they could
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 293
never satisfy their cruelty. They put their invention
upon the rack to find out torments that should be cruel
enough ; and yet, after all, never seemed to be satisfied.
Their thirst has never been satisfied with blood.
So that this is out of doubt, that this religion, and these
scriptures, have always been malignantly opposed in the
world. The only question that remains is, What it is
that has made this opposition? — Whether or not it has
been good or bad? Whether it be the wickedness and
corruption of the world, or not, that has done this?
But of this there can be no greater doubt than of the
other, if we consider how causeless this cruelty has
always been, who the opposers have been, and the man
ner in which they have opposed. The opposition has
chiefly been from heathenism and Popery ; which things
certainly are evil. They are both of them very evil, and
the fruits of the blindness, corruption, and wickedness
of men, as the very Deists themselves confess. The
light of nature shows, that the religion of heathens, con
sisting in the worship of idols, andlsacrificing their child
ren to them, and in obscene and abominable rites and
ceremonies, is wickedness. And the superstitions, and
idolatries, and usurpations, of the church of Rome, are
no less contrary to the light of nature. By this it ap
pears, that this opposition which has been made against
the church of God, has been made by wicked men. And
with regard to the opposition of the Jews in Christ's and
the apostles' times, it was in a most corrupt time of that
nation, when the people were generally become exceed
ing wicked, as some of the Jewish writers themselves,
as^Josephus and others, who lived about that time, do
expressly say. And that it has been mere wickedness
that has made this opposition, is manifest from the man
ner of opposition, the extreme violence, injustice, and
cruelty, with which the church of God has been treated.
It seems to show the hand of malignant infernal spirits
in it.
Now, what reason can be assigned, why the corrup
tion and wickedness of the world should so implacably
set itself against this religion of Jesus Christ, and against
the scriptures, but only that they are contrary to wick
edness, and consequently aft good and holy? — Why
should the enemies of Christ, for so many thousand
years together, manifest such a mortal hatred of this re
ligion, but only that it is the cause of God ? If the scrip
tures be not the word of God, and the religion of the
25*
294 A HISTORY OF THE
church of Christ be not the true religion, then it must
follow, that it is a most wicked religion ; nothing but a
pack of lies and abominable delusions, invented by the
enemies of God themselves. And if this were so, it is not
likely that the enemies of God, and the wickedness of
the world, would have maintained such a perpetual and
implacable enmity against it.
(2..) It is a great argument that the Christian church
and its religion is from God, that it has been upheld
hitherto through all the opposition and dangers it has
passed through. That the church of God and the true
religion, which has been so continually and violently op
posed, with so many endeavours to overthrow it, and
which has so often been brought to the brink of ruin,
and almost swallowed up, through the greatest part of
six thousand years, has yet been upheld, does most re
markably show the hand of God in favour of the church.
If we consider it, it will appear one of the greatest won
ders and miracles that ever came to pass. There is no
thing else like it upon the face of the earth. There is no
other society of men that has stood as the church has.
As to the old world, which was before the flood, that was
overthrown by a deluge of waters; but yet the church
of God was preserved. Satan's visible kingdom on
earth was then once entirely overthrown ; but the visi
ble kingdom of Christ never has been overthrown. All
those ancient human kingdoms and monarchies of which
we read, and which have been in former ages, are long
since come to an end. Those kingdoms of which we
read in the Old Testament, of the Moabites, the Am
monites, the Edomites, &c. are all Jong ago come to
an end. Those four great monarchies of the world have
been overthrown one after another. The great empire
of proud Babylon was overthrown by the Persians; and
then the Persian empire was overthrown by the Greeks ;
after this the Grecian empire was overthrown by the
Romans ; and, finally, the Roman empire fell a sacrifice
to various barbarous nations. Here is a remarkable ful
filment of the words of the text with respect to other
things, even the greatest and most glorious of them :
they have all grown old, and have vanished away ; " the
moth has eaten them up ffke a garment, and the worm
has eaten them like wool ;" but yet God's church re
mains.
Never were there so many and so potent endeavours
to destroy any thing else, as there have been to destroy
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 295
the church. Other kingdoms and societies of men, which
have appeared to be ten times as strong as the church
of God, have been destroyed with an hundredth part of
the opposition which the church of God has met with :
which shows, that it is God who has been the protector of
the church. For it is most plain, that it has not upheld
itself by its own strength. For the most part, it has been
a very weak society. They have been a little flock: so
they were of old. The children of Israel were but a
small handful of people, in comparison of the many who
often sought their overthrow. And so in Christ's time,
arid in the beginning of the Christian church after Christ's
resurrection, they were but a remnant: whereas the
whole multitude of the Jewish nation were against them.
And so in the beginning of the Gentile church, they were
but a small number in comparison with the heathen,
who sought their overthrow. And so in the dark times
of Antichrist, before the Reformation, they were but a
handful; and yet their enemies could not overthrow
them. And it has commonly been so, that the enemies
of the church have not only had the greatest number on
their side, but they have had the strength on their side
in other respects. They have commonly had all the
civil authority on their side. So it was in Egypt : the
civil authority was on the side of the Egyptians, and the
church were only their slaves, and were in their hands;
and yet they could not overthrow them. And so it was
in the time of the persecution of Antiochus Epiphanes :
the authority was all on the side of the persecutors, and
the church was under their dominion ; and yet all their
cruelty could not extirpate it. And so it was afterwards
in the time of the heathen Roman government. And so
it was in the time of Julian the apostate, who did his
utmost to overthrow the Christian church, and to restore
heathenism. And so it has been for the most part since
the rise of Antichrist : for a great many ages, the civil
authority was all on the side of Antichrist, and the
church seemed to be in their hands.
And not only has the strength of the enemies of the
church been greater than the strength of the church, but
ordinarily the church has not used what strength they
have had in their own defence, but have committed
themselves wholly to God. So it was in the time of the
Jewish persecutions before the destruction of Jerusalem
by the Romans; and so it was in the time of the heathen
persecutions before Constantine ; the Christians did not
296
A HISTORY OF THE
only not rise up in arms to defend themselves, but they
did not pretend to make any forcible resistance to their
heathen persecutors. So it has for the most part been
under the Popish persecutions ; and yet they have never
been able to overthrow the church of God; but it stands
to this very day.
And this is still the more exceeding wonderful, if we
consider how often the church has been brought to the
brink of ruin, and the case seemed to be desperate, and
all hope gone, and they seemed to be swallowed up. In
the time of the old world, when wickedness so prevailed, as
that but one family was left, yet God wonderfully appear
ed, and overthrew the wicked world with a flood, and
preserved his church. And so at the Red Sea, when
Pharaoh and his host thought they were quite sure of
their prey ; yet God appeared, and destroyed them, and
delivered his church. And so was it from time to time
in the church of Israel, as has been shown. So under
the tenth and last heathen persecution, their persecutors
boasted that now they had done the business for the
Christians, and had overthrown the Christian church;
yet in the midst of their triumph, the Christian church
rises out of the dust and prevails, and the heathen empire
totally falls before it. So when the Christian church
seemed ready to be swallowed up by the Arian heresy ;
so when Antichrist rose and prevailed, and all the world
wondered after the beast, and the church for many hun
dred years was reduced to such a small number, and
seemed to be hidden, and the power of the world was
engaged to destroy those little remainders of the church ;
vet they could never fully accomplish their design, and
at last God wonderfully revived his church in the time
of the Reformation, and made it to stand as it were on
Us feet in the sight of its enemies, and raised it out of
their reach. And^so since, when the Popish powers have
plotted the overthrow of the Reformed church, and have
seemed just about to bring their matters to a conclusion,
and to finish their design, then God has wonderfully ap
peared for the deliverance of his church, as it was in the
time of the Revolution by King William. And so it has
been from time to time : presently after the darkest times
of the church, God has made his church most gloriously
to flourish.
If such a preservation of the church of God, from the
beginning of the world hitherto, attended with such cir
cumstances, is not sufficient to shew a divine hand in
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 297
favour of it, what can be devised that would be suffi
cient! But if this be from the divine hand, then God
owns the church, and owns her religion, and owns that
revelation and those scriptures on which she is built ;
and so it will follow, that their religion is the true reli
gion, or God's religion, and that the scriptures, which
they make their rule, are his word.
(3.) We may draw this further argument for the di
vine authority of the scriptures from what has been said,
viz. that God has so fulfilled those things which are fore
told in the scriptures. — I have already observed, as I
went along, how the prophecies of scripture were fulfill
ed : I shall now therefore single out but two instances
of the fulfilment of scripture prophecy.
[1.] One is in preserving his church from being ruined.
I have just now shown what an evidence this is of the
divine authority of the scriptures in itself considered: I
now speak of it as a fulfilment of scripture prophecy.
This is abundantly foretold and promised in the scrip
tures, as particularly in the text : there it is foretold, that
other things shall fail, other kingdoms and monarchies,
which set themselves in opposition shall come to no
thing : " the moth should eat them up like a garment,
and the worm should eat them like wool." And so it
has in fact come to pass. But it is here foretold, that
God's covenant mercy to his church shall continue for
ever; and so it hath hitherto proved, though no wit be so
many ages since, and though the church has passed
through so many dangers. The same is promised, Isa.
liv. 7. "No weapon that is formed against thee, shall
prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee
in judgment, thou shalt condemn." And again, Isa. xlix.
14, 15, 16. "But Zion said, The Lord hathYorsaken me,
and my Lord hath forgotten me. Can a woman forget
her sucking child, that she should not have compassion
on the son of her womb? Yea, they may forget, yet will
I not forget thee. Behold, I have graven thee upon the
palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before
me." The same is promised again in Isa. lix. 21. and
Isa. xliii. 1, 2. and Zech. xii. 2, 3. So Christ promises
the same, when he says, " On this rock will 1 build my
church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."
Now if this be not from God, and the scriptures be not
the word of God, and the church of Christ built on the
foundation of this word be not of God, how could the
persons who foretold this, know it ] For if the church
298 A HISTORY OF THE
were not of God, it was a very unlikely thing ever to
come to pass. For they foretold the great opposition,
and the great dangers, and also foretold that other king
doms should come to nought, and that the church should
often be almost swallowed up, as it were easy to show,
and yet foretold that the church should remain. Now,
how could they foresee so unlikely a thing but by divine
inspiration 1
[2.] The other remarkable instance which I shall
mention of the fulfilment of scripture prophecy, is in
fulfilling what is foretold concerning Antichrist, a cer
tain great opposer of Christ and his kingdom. And
the way that this Antichrist should arise, is foretold, viz.
not among the heathen, or those nations that never pro
fessed Christianity ; but that he should arise by the
apostasy and falling away of the Christian church into a
corrupt state: 2 Thes. ii. 3. "For that day shall not
come, except there come a falling away first, and that
man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition." — And it is
prophesied, that this Antichrist, or man of sin, should be
one, that should set himself up in the temple or visible
church of God, pretending to be vested with the power
of God himself, as head of the church, as in the same
chapter, ver. 4. And all this is exactly come to pass in
the church of Rome. Again, it is intimated, that the rise
of Antichrist should be gradual, as there, ver. 7. " For
the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who
now letteth, will let, until he be taken out of the way."
This also came to pass. — Again, it is prophesied of such
a great and mighty enemy of the Christian church, that
he should be a great prince or monarch of the Roman
empire: so he is represented as an horn of the fourth
beast in Daniel, or fourth kingdom or monarchy upon
earth, as the angel himself explains it, as you may see
of the little horn in the 7th chapter of Daniel. This also
came to pass. — Yea it is prophesied, that the seat of this
great prince, or pretended vicar of God, and head of his
church, should be in the city of Rome itself. In the 17th
chapter of Revelation, it is said expressly, that the spirit
ual whore, or false church, should have her seat on seven
mountains or hills : Rev. xvii. 9. " The seven heads are
seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth :" and in
the last verse of the chapter, it is said expressly, " The
woman which thou sawest, is that great city, which
reigneth over the kings of the earth ;" which it is certain
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 299
was at that time the city of Rome. This prophecy also
has come to pass in the church of Rome.
Further, it was prophesied, that this Antichrist should
reign over peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and
tongues, Rev. xvii. 15. and that all the world should
wonder after the beast, Rev. xiii. 3. This also came to
pass in the church of Rome. It was foretold that this
Antichrist should be eminent and remarkable for the sin
of pride, pretending to great things, and assuming very
much to himself: so in the forementioned place in Thes-
salonians, " That he should exalt himself above all that
is called God," or that is worshipped. So Rev. xiii. 5.
"And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great
things, and blasphemies." Dan. vii. 20. the little horn is
said to have a mouth speaking very great things, and
his look to be more stout than his fellows. This also
came to pass in the Pope, and the church of Rome. — It
was also prophesied, that Antichrist should be an ex
ceeding cruel persecutor, Dan. vii. 21. The same horn
made war with the saints, and prevailed against them:
Rev. xiii. 7. "And it was given unto him to make war
with the saints, and to overcome them." Rev. xvii. 6.
"And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the
saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus."
This also came to pass in the church of Rome. — It was
foretold, that Antichrist should excel in craft and policy :
Dan. vii. 8. " In this horn were eyes like the eyes of a
man." And verse 20. " Even of that horn that had eyes."
This also came to pass in the church of Rome. — It was
foretold, that the kings of Christendom should be sub
ject to Antichrist: Rev. xvii. 12, 13. "And the ten horns
which thou sawest, are ten kings, which have received
no kingdom as yet ; but receive power as kings one
hour with the beast. These have one mind, and shall
give their power and strength unto the beast." This
also came to pass with respect to the Romish church. —
It was foretold, that he should perform pretended mira
cles and lying wonders : 2 Thess. ii. 9. " Whose coming
is after the working of Satan, with all power, and signs,
and lying wonders." Rev. xiii. 13, 14. "And he doth
great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from
heaven on the earth, in the sight of men, and deceiveth
them that dwell on the earth, by the means of those
miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the
beast." This also came to pass in the church of Rome.
Fire coming down from heaven, seems to have refer-
300 A HISTORY OF THE
ence to their excommunications, which were dreaded like
fire from heaven. — It was foretold, that he should forbid
to marry, and command to abstain from meats : 1 Tim. iv.
3. "Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain
from meats, which God had created to be received with
thanksgiving." This also is exactly fulfilled in the
church of Rome. — It was foretold, that he should be very
rich, and arrive at a great degree of earthly splendor
and glory : Rev. xvii. 4. " And the woman was arrayed
in purple, and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and
precious stones, and pearls, having a golden cup in her
hand." And so chap, xviii. 7. 12, 13. 16. This also is
come to pass with respect to the church of Rome. — It
was foretold, that he should forbid any to buy or sell,
but those that had his mark; Rev. xiii. 17. "And that
no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or
the name of the beast, or the number of his name." This
also is fulfilled in the church of Rome. — It was foretold,
that he should sell the souls of men, Rev. xviii. 13. where,
in enumerating the articles of his merchandise, the souls
of men are mentioned as one. This also is exactly ful
filled in the same church. — It was foretold, that Anti
christ would not suffer the bodies of God's people to be
put into graves : Rev. xi. 8, 9. " And their dead bodies
shall lie in the street of the great city — and they — shall
not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves." This
also has literally come to pass with respect to the church
of Rome. — I might mention many other things which
were foretold of Antichrist, or that great enemy of the
church so often spoken of in scripture, and show that
they were fulfilled most exactly in the Pope and the
church of Rome.
How strong an argument was this, that the scriptures
are the word of God !
2. But I come now to a second inference; which is
this : from what has been said, we may learn what the
spirit of true Christians is, viz. a spirit of suffering.
Seeing God has so ordered it in his providence, that his
church should for so long a time, for the greater part of
so many ages, be in a suffering state, yea, and often in a
state of such extreme suffering, we may conclude, that
the spirit of the true church is a suffering spirit, otherwise
God never would have ordered so much suffering for the
church ; for doubtless God accommodates the state and
circumstances of the church to the spirit that he has
given them. We see by what has been said, how many
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 301
and great suffering the Christian church for the most
part has been under for these 1700 years: no wonder
therefore that Christ so much inculcated upon his disci
ples, that it was necessary, that if any would be his dis
ciples, " they must deny themselves and take up their
cross and follow him."
And we may argue, that the spirit of the true church
of Christ is a suffering spirit, by the spirit the church has
shown and exercised under her sufferings. She has ac
tually, under those terrible persecutions through which
she has passed, rather chosen to undergo those dreadful
torments and to sell all for the pearl of great price, to
suffer all that her bitterest enemies could inflict, than to
renounce Christ and his religion. History furnishes us
with a great number of remarkable instances, sets in
view a great cloud of witnesses. This abundantly con
firms the necessity of being of a spirit to sell all for
Christ, to renounce our own ease, our own worldly
profit, and honour, and our all, for him, and for the
gospel.
Let us inquire, whether we are of such a spirit. How
does it prove upon trial ] — Does it prove in fact that we
are willing to deny ourselves, and renounce our own
worldly interest, and to pass through the trials to which
we are called in providence 1 Alas, how small are our
trials, compared with those of many of our fellow Christ
ians in former ages ! And I would on this occasion ap
ply that in Jer. xii. 5. " If thou hast run with the footmen,
and they have wearied thee, then, how canst thou con
tend with horses'!" If you have not been able to endure
the light trials to which you have heen called in this age,
and in this land, how would you be able to endure the
far greater trials to which the church has been called in
former ages? Every true Christian has the spirit of a
martyr, and would suffer as a martyr, if he were called
to it in providence.
3. Hence we learn what great reason we have, assu
redly to expect the fulfilment of what yet remains to be
fulfilled of things foretold in scripture. The scriptures
foretel many great things yet to be fulfilled before the
end of the world. But there seem to be great difficulties
in the way. We seem at present to be very far from
such a state as is foretold in the scriptures; but we have
abundant reason to expect, that these things, however
seemingly difficult, will yet be accomplished in their sea
son. We see the faithfulness of God to his promises
26
302 A HISTORY OF THE
hitherto. How true has God been to his church, and re
membered his mercy from generation to generation !
We may say concerning what God has done hitherto for
his church, as Joshua said to the children ?f Israel, Josh,
xxiii. 14. '* That not one thing hath failed of all the Lord
our God hath spoken concerning his church ;" but all
things are hitherto come to pass, agreeable to the divine
prediction. This should strengthen our faith in those
promises, and encourage us, and stir us up to earnest
prayer to God for the accomplishment of the great and
glorious things which yet remain to be fulfilled.
It has already been shown how the success of Christ's
redemption was carried on through various periods down
to the present time.
4thly, I come now to show how the success of Christ's
redemption will be carried on from the present time, un
til Antichrist is fallen, and Satan's visible kingdom on
earth is destroyed. — And with respect to this space of
time, we have nothing to guide us but the prophecies of
scripture. Through most of the time from the fall of
man to the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans, we
had scripture history to guide us ; and from thence to
the present time we had prophecy, together with the ac
complishment of it in providence, as related in human
histories. But henceforward we have only prophecy to
guide us. And here I would pass by those things that
are only conjectural, or that are surmised by some from
those prophecies which are doubtful in their interpreta
tion, and shall insist only on those things which are more
clear and evident.
We know not what particular events are to come to
pass before that glorious work of God's Spirit begins, by
which Satan's kingdom is to be overthrown. By the
consent of most divines, there are but few things, if any
at all, that are foretold to be accomplished before the be
ginning of that glorious work of God. Some think the
slaying of the witnesses, Rev. xi. 7, 8. is not yet accom
plished. So divines differ with respect to the pour
ing out of the seven vials, of which we have an account
RPV. xvi. how many are already poured out, or how
many remain to be poured out ; though a late expositor
whom I have before mentioned to you, seems to make it
very plain and evident, that all are already poured out
but two, viz. the sixth on the river Euphrates, and the
seventh into the air. But I will not now stand to inquire
what is intended by the pouring out of the sixth vial on
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 303
the river Euphrates, that the way of the kings of the
east may be prepared ; but only would say, that it seems
to be something immediately preparing the way for the
destruction of the spiritual Babylon, as the drying up of
the river Euphrates, which ran through the midst of old
Babylon, was what prepared the way of the kings of the
Medes and Persians, the kings of the east, to come in un
der the walls, and destroy that city.
But whatever this be, it does not appear that it is any
thing which shall be accomplished before that work of
God's Spirit is begun, by which, as it goes on, Satan's
visible kingdom on earth shall be utterly overthrown.
And therefore I would proceed directly to consider what
the scripture reveals concerning the work of God itself,
by which he will bring about this great event, as being
the next thing which is to be accomplished that we are
certain of from the prophecies of scripture.
And, first, I would observe two things in general con
cerning it.
1. We have all reason to conclude from the scriptures,
that just before this work of God begins, it will be a very
dark time with respect to the interests of religion in the
world. It has been so before those glorious revivals of
religion that have been hitherto. It was so when Christ
came ; it was an exceeding degenerate time among the
Jews : and so it was a very dark time before the Refor
mation. And not only so, but it seems to be foretold in
scripture, that it shall be a time of but little religion,
when Christ shall come to set up his kingdom in the
world. Thus when Christ spake of his coming to en
courage his elect, who cry to him day and night, in Luke
xviii. 8, he adds this, " Nevertheless, when the Son of
Man cometh, Shall he find faith on the earth ?" Which
seems to denote a great prevalence of infidelity just be
fore Christ's coming to avenge his suffering church.
Though Christ's coming at the last judgment is not here
to be excluded, yet there seems to be a special respect
to his coming to deliver his church from their long con
tinued suffering persecuted state, which is accomplished
only at his coming at the destruction of Antichrist.
That time that the elect cry to God, as in Rev. vi. 10.
" How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge
and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth 1"
and the time spoken of in Rev. xviii. 20. " Rejoice over
her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles, and prophets, for
304 A HISTORY OF THE
God hath avenged you on her," will then be accom
plished.
It is now a very dark time with respect to the inter
ests of religion, and such a time as this prophesied of in
this place ; wherein there is but a little faith, and a great
prevailing of infidelity on the earth. There is now"a re
markable fulfilment of that in 2 Pet. iii. 3. "Knowing
this, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walk
ing after their own lusts." And so Jude, 17, 18. "But
beloved, remember ye the words which were spoken be
fore of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ ; how that
they told you there should be mockers in the last time,
who should walk after their own ungodly lusts." Wheth
er the times shall be any darker still, or how much dark
er, before the beginning of this glorious work of God, we
cannot tell.
2. There is no reason from the word of God to think
any other, than that this great work of God will be
wrought, though very swiftly, yet gradually. As the
children of Israel were gradually brought out of the
Babylonish captivity, first one company, and then an
other, and gradually rebuilt their city and temple ; and
as the heathen Roman empire was destroyed by a gra
dual, though a very swift prevalency of the gospel ; so,
though there are many things which seem to hold forth
as though the work of God would be exceeding swift,
and many great and wonderful events should very sud
denly be brought to pass, and some great parts of Sa
tan's visible kingdom should have a very sudden fall, yet
all will not be accomplished at once, as by some great
miracle, as the resurrection of the dead at the end of the
world will be all at once ; but this is a work which will
be accomplished by means, by the preaching of the
gospel, and the use of the ordinary means of grace, and
so shall be gradually brought to pass. Some shall be
converted, and be the means of the conversion of others.
God's Spirit shall be poured out first to raise up instru
ments, and then those instruments shall be used and suc
ceeded. And doubtless one nation shall be enlightened
and converted after another, one false religion and false
way of worship exploded after another. By the repre
sentation in Dan. ii. 3, 4. the stone cut out of the moun
tain without hands gradually grows. So Christ teaches
us, that the kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard
seed, Matt. xiii. 31, 32. and like leaven hid in three mea
sures of meal, ver. 33. The same representation we have
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 305
in Mark iv. 26, 27, 28. and in the vision of the waters of
the sanctuary, Ezek. xlvii. — The scriptures hold forth as
though there should be several successive great and glo
rious events by which this work should be accomplished.
The angel, speaking to the prophet Daniel of those glo
rious times, mentions two glorious periods, at the end of
which glorious things should be accomplished : Dan. xii.
11. " And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be
taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate
set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety
days." But then he adds in the next verse, " Blessed is
he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hun
dred and five and thirty days ;" intimating, that some
thing very glorious should be accomplished at the end of
the former period, but something much more glorious at
the end of the latter.
But I now proceed to show how this glorious work
shall be accomplished.
1. The Spirit of God shall be gloriously poured out for
the wonderful revival and propagation of religion. This
great work shall be accomplished, not by the authority
of princes, nor by the wisdom of learned men, but by
God's Holy Spirit : Zech. iv. 6, 7. " Not by might, nor by
power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts. Who
art thou, O great mountain ? Before Zertibbabel thou
shalt become a plain, and he shall bring forth the head
stone thereof with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace unto
it." So the prophet Ezekiel, speaking of this great work
of God, says, chap, xxxix. 29. "Neither will I hide my
face any more from them; for I have poured out my
Spirit on the house of Israel, saith the Lord God." We
know not where this pouring out of the Spirit shall be
gin, or whether in many places at once, or whether,
what hath already been, be not some forerunner and be
ginning of it.
This pouring out of the Spirit of God, when it is be
gun, shall soon bring great multitudes to forsake that
vice and wickedness which now so generally prevails,
and shall cause that vital religion, which is now so de
spised and laughed at in the world, to revive. The work
of conversion shall break forth, and go on in such a man
ner as never has been hitherto ; agreeable to that in Isa.
xliv. 3, 4, 5. — God, by pouring out his Holy Spirit, will
furnish men to be glorious instruments of carrying on
this work; will fill them with knowledge and wisdom,
and fervent zeal for the promoting the kingdom of Christ,
306 A HISTORY OF THE
and the salvation of souls, and propagating the gospel m
the world. So that the gospel shall begin to be preached
with abundantly greater clearness and power than had
heretofore been : for this great work of God shall be
brought to pass by the preaching of the gospel, as is re
presented in Rev. xiv. 6, 7, 8. that before Babylon falls,
the gospel shall be powerfully preached and propagated
in the world.
This was typified of old by the sounding of the silver
trumpets in Israel in the beginning of their jubilee: Lev.
xxv. 9. " Then shalt thou cause the trumpet of the jubi
lee to sound on the tenth day of the seventh month ; on
the day of atonement shall ye make the trumpet sound
throughout all your land." The glorious times which
are approaching, are as it were the church's jubilee,
which shall be introduced by the sounding of the silver
trumpet of the gospel, as is foretold in Isa. xxvii. 13.
" And it shall come to pass in that day, that the great
trumpet shall be blown, and they shall come which were
ready to perish in the land of Assyria, and the outcasts
of the land of Egypt, and shall worship the Lord in the
holy mount at Jerusalem." And there shall be a glori
ous pouring out of the Spirit with this clear and power
ful preaching of the gospel, to make it successful for re
viving those holy doctrines of religion which are now
chiefly ridiculed in the world, and turning many from
heresy, and from Popery, and from other false religion ;
and also for turning many from their vice and profane-
ness, and for bringing vast multitudes savingly home to
Christ.
That work of conversion shall go on in a wonderful
manner, and spread more and more. Many shall flow
together to the goodness of the Lord, and shall come as
it were in flocks, one flock and multitude after another
continually flowing in, as in Isa. lx. 4, 5. "Lift up thine
eyes round about, and see; all they gather themselves
together, they come to thee ; thy sons shall come from
far, and thy daughters shall be nursed at thy side. Then
thou shalt see and flow together." And so verse 8.
" Who are these that fly as a cloud, and as the doves to
their windows?" And it being represented in the fore-
mentioned place in the Revelation, that the gospel shall
be preached to every tongue, and kindred, and nation,
and people, before the fall of Antichrist; so we may sup
pose, that it will soon be gloriously successful to bring
in multitudes from every nation; and it shall spread
OF REDEMPTION. 30?
more and more with wonderful swiftness, and vast
numbers shall suddenly be brought in as it were at once,
as you may see, Isa. Ixvi. 7, 8, 9.
2. This pouring out of the Spirit of God will not effect
the overthrow of Satan's visible kingdom, until there has
first been a violent and mighty opposition made. In this
the scripture is plain, that when Christ is thus gloriously
coming forth, and the destruction of Antichrist is ready
at hand, and Satan's kingdom begins to totter, and to
appear to be imminently threatened, the powers of the
kingdom of darkness will rise up, and mightily exert
themselves to prevent their kingdom being overthrown.
Thus after the pouring out the sixth vial, which was to
dry up the river Euphrates, to prepare the way for the
destruction of spiritual Babylon, it is represented in Rev.
xvi. as though the powers of hell will be mightily alarm
ed, and should stir up themselves to oppose the kingdom
of Christ, before the seventh and last vial shall be poured
out, which shall give them a final and complete over
throw. We have an account of the pouring out of the
sixth in verse 12. And then upon this, the beloved dis
ciple informs us in the following verses, that "three un
clean spirits like frogs shall go forth unto the kings of
the earth, to gather them together to the battle of the
great day of God Almighty." This seems to be the last
and greatest effort of Satan to save his kingdom from
being overthrown ; though perhaps he may make as
great towards the end of the world to regain it.
When the Spirit begins to be so gloriously poured
forth, and the devil sees such multitudes flocking to
Christ in one nation and another, and the foundations
of his kingdom daily undermining, and the pillars of it
breaking, and the whole ready to come to swift and sud
den destruction, it will greatly alarm all hell. Satan has
ever had a dread of having his kingdom overthrown,
and he has been opposing of it ever since Christ's ascen
sion, and has been doing great works to fortify his king
dom, and to prevent it, ever since the day of Constan-
tine the Great. To this end he has set up those two
mighty kingdoms of Antichrist and Mahomet, and
brought in all the heresies, and superstitions, and cor
rupt opinions, which there are in the world. But when
he sees all begin to fail, it will rouse him up exceedingly.
If Satan dreaded being cast out of the Roman empire,
how much more does he dread being cast out of the
whole world !
308 A HISTORY OP THE
It seems as though in this last great opposition which
shall be made against the church to defend the kingdom
of Satan, all the forces of Antichrist, and Mahometanism,
and heathenism, will be united ; all the forces of Satan's
visible kingdom through the whole world of mankind.
Arid therefore it is said, that " spirits of devils shall go
forth unto the kings of the earth, and of the whole world,
to gather them together to the battle of the great day of
God Almighty." And these spirits are said to come out
of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the
beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet ; i. e. there
shall be the spirit of Popery, and the spirit of Mahometan-
ism, and the spirit of heathenism, all united. By the beast
is meant Antichrist ; by the dragon, in this book, is com
monly meant the devil, as he reigns over his heathen
kingdom ; by the false prophet, in this book, is some
times meant the Pope and his clergy : but here an eye
seems to be had to Mahomet, whom his followers call
the great prophet of God. This will be as it were the
dying struggles of the old serpent ; a battle wherein he
will fight as one that is almost desperate.
We" know not particularly in what manner this op
position shall be made. It is represented as a battle ; it
is called the battle of the great day of God Almighty.
There will be some way or other a mighty struggle be
tween Satan's kingdom and the church, and probably in
all wa)'s of opposition that can be ; and doubtless great
opposition by external force; wherein the princes of the
world who are on the devil's side shall join hand in hand:
for it is said, " The kings of the earth are gathered to
gether to battle," Rev. xix. 19. And probably withal
there will be great opposition of subtle disputers and
carnal reasoning, and great persecution in many places,
and great opposition by virulent reproaches, and also
greaf opposition by craft and subtlety. The devil now
doubtless will ply his skill, as well as strength, to the
utmost. The devils, and those who belong to their king
dom, will every where be stirred up, and engaged to
make an united and violent opposition against this holy
religion, which they see prevailing so mightily in the
world. — But,
3. Christ and his church shall in this battle obtain a
complete and entire victory over their enemies. They
shall be totally routed and overthrown in this their last
effort. When the powers of hell and earth are thus
gathered together against Christ, and his armies shall
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 309
come forth against them by his word and Spirit to fight
with them, in how august, and pompous, and glorious a
manner is this coming forth of Christ and his church to
this battle described ! Rev. xix. 11. &c. And to repre
sent to us how great the victory should be which they
should obtain, and how mighty the overthrow of their
enemies, it is said, verses 17, 18. that " all the fowls of
heaven are called together, to eat the great supper given
them, of the flesh of kings, and captains, and mighty men,"
&c. and then, in the following verses, we have an account
of the victory and overthrow.
In this victory, the seventh vial shall be poured out.
It is said, Rev. xvi. 16. of the great army that should be
gathered together against Christ : " and he gathered
them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue,
Armageddon;" and then it is said, "And the seventh
angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a
great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne,
saying, It is done." Now the business is done for Satan
and his adherents. When this victory is obtained, all is
in effect done. Satan's last and greatest opposition is
conquered ; all his measures are defeated ; the pillars of
his kingdom broken asunder, and will fall of course.
The devil is utterly baffled and confounded, and knows
not what else to do. He now sees his Antichristian, and
Mahometan, and heathenish kingdoms through the world,
all tumbling about his ears. He and his most powerful
instruments are taken captive. Now that is in effect
done which the church of God had been so long waiting
and hoping for, and so earnestly crying to God for, say
ing, " How long, O Lord, holy and true!" Now the time
is come.
The angel who set his right foot on the sea, and his
left foot on the earth, lift up his hand to heaven, and
swore by Him that liveth for ever and ever, who created
heaven, and all things that therein are, and the earth,
and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the
things which are therein, that when the seventh angel
should come to sound, the time should be no longer.
And now the time is come ; now the seventh trumpet
sounds, and the seventh vial is poured out, both together;
intimating, that now all is finished as to the overthrow
of Satan's visible kingdom on earth. This victory shall
be by far the greatest that ever was obtained over Satan
and his adherents. By this blow, with which the stone
cut out of the mountain without hands shall strike the
310 A HISTORY OF THE
image of gold, and silver, and brass, and iron, and clay,
it shall all be broken to pieces. This will be a finishing
blow to the image, so that it shall become as the chaff of
the summer threshing floor.
In this victory will be a most glorious display of divine
power. Christ shall therein appear in the character of
King of kings, and Lord of lords, as in Rev. xix. 16.
Now Christ shall dash his enemies, even the strongest
and proudest of them, in pieces; as a potter's vessel
shall they be broken to shivers. Then shall strength be
shown out of weakness, and Christ shall cause his church
as it were to thresh the mountains, as in Isa. xli. 15.
" Behold, I will make thee a new sharp threshing instru
ment having teeth : thou shalt thresh the mountains, and
beat them small, and shalt make the hills as chaff." And
then shall be fulfilled that in Isa. xlii. 13, 14, 15.
4. Consequent on this victory, Satan's visible kingdom
on earth shall be destroyed. When Satan is conquered
in this last battle, the church of Christ will have easy
work of it ; as when Joshua and the children of Israel
had obtained that great victory over the five kings of
the Amorites, when the sun stood still, and God sent
great hailstones on their enemies, they after that went
from one city to another, and burnt them with fire : they
had easy work of subduing the cities and country to
which they belonged. So it was also after that other
great battle that Joshua had with that great multitude
at the waters of Merom. So after this glorious victory
of Christ and his church over their enemies, over the
chief powers of Satan's kingdom, they shall destroy that
kingdom in all those cities and countries to which they
belonged. After this the word of God shall have a
speedy and swift progress through the earth; as it is
said, that on the pouring out of the seventh vial, " the
cities of the nations fell, and every island fled away, and
the mountains were not found," Rev. xvi. 19, 20. When
once the stone cut out of the mountain without hands
had broken the image in pieces, it was easy to abolish
all remains of it. The very wind will carry it away as
the chaff of the summer threshing floor. Because Sa
tan's visible kingdom on earth shall now be destroyed,
therefore it is said, that the seventh vial, by which this
shall be done, shall be poured out into the air; which is
represented in scripture as the special seat of his king-
dom ; for he is called the prince of the power of the air,
Eph. ii 2. Now is come the time for punishing levia-
WOKJt OF REDEMPTION.
fhan that piercing serpent, of which we read .
xxvii. 1. " In that day the Lord with his sore and v
and strong sword, shall punish leviathan the piei\
serpent, even leviathan, that crooked serpent, and .e
shall slay the dragon that is in the sea."
Concerning this overthrow of Satan's visible kingdom
on earth, I would, 1. Show wherein this overthrow of
Satan's visible kingdom will chiefly consist ; 2. The ex
tent and universality of this overthrow.
1. I would show wherein this overthrow of Satan's
kingdom will chiefly consist. I shall mention the par
ticular things in which it will consist, without pretend
ing to determine in what order they shall come to pass,
or which shall be accomplished first, or whether they
shall be accomplished together.
(1.) Heresies, and infidelity, and superstition, among
those who have been brought up under the light of the
gospel, will then be abolished. Then there will be an
end to Socinianism, and Arianism, and Quakerism, and
Arminianism ; and Deism, which is now so bold and
confident in infidelity, shall then be crushed, and driven
away, and vanish to nothing; and all shall agree in the
same great and important doctrines of the gospel ; agree
able to that in Zech. xiv. 9. "And the Lord shall be king
over all the earth : in that day shall there be one Lord,
and his name one." Then shall be abolished all super
stitious ways of worship, and all shall agree in worship
ping God in his own ways: Jer. xxxii. 39. "And I will
give them one heart, and one way, that they may fear
me for ever, for the good of them, and of their children
after them."
(2.) The kingdom of Antichrist shall be utterly over
thrown. His kingdom and dominion has been much
brought down already by the vial poured out on his
throne in the Reformation ; but then it shall be utterly
destroyed. Then shall be proclaimed, " Babylon is fall
en, is fallen." When the seventh angel sounds, "the
time, times and half, shall be out, and time shall be
no longer." Then shall be accomplished concerning
Antichrist the things which are written in the 18th
chapter of Revelation, of the spiritual Babylon, that
great city Rome, or the idolatrous Roman government,
that has for so many ages been the great enemy of the
Christian church, First under heathenism, then under
Popery : that proud city which lifted herself up to hea
ven, and above God himself in her pride and haughti-
312 A HISTORY OF THE
ness; that cruel, bloody city, shall come down to the
ground. Then shall that be fulfilled, Isa. xxvi. 5. "For
he bringeth down them that dwell on high, the lofty city
he layeth it low, he layeth it low, even to the ground, he
bringeth it even to the dust." " She shall be thrown
down with violence, like a great mill stone cast into the
sea, and shall be found no more at all, and shall become
an habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit,
and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird." Now
shall she be stripped of all her glory, and riches, and or
naments, and shall be cast out as an abominable branch,
and shall be trodden down as the mire of the streets.
All her policy and craft, in which she so abounded, shall
not save her. And God shall make his people, who have
been so persecuted by her, to come and put their foot on
the neck of Antichrist, and he shall be their footstool.
All the strength and wisdom of this great whore shall
fail her, and there shall be none to help her. The kings
of the earth, who before gave their power and strength
to the beast, shall now hate the whore, and shall make
her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn
her with fire, Rev. xvii. 16.
(3.) That other great kingdom which Satan has set
up in opposition to the Christian church, viz. his Maho
metan kingdom, shall be utterly overthrown. The
locusts and horsemen, in the 9th of Revelation, have
their appointed and limited time set them there, and the
false prophet shall be taken and destroyed. And then,
though Mahometanism, has been so vastly propagated
in the world, and is upheld by such a great empire, this
smoke, which has ascended out of the bottomless pit,
shall be utterly scattered before the light of that glorious
day, and the Mahometan empire shall fall at the sound
of the great trumpet which shall then be blown.
(4.) Jewish infidelity shall then be overthrown. How
ever obstinate they have been now for above 1700 years
in their rejection of Christ, and instances of the conver
sion of any of that nation have been so very rare ever
since the destruction of Jerusalem, but they have,
against the plain teachings of their own prophets, con
tinued to approve of the cruelty of their forefathers in
crucifying Christ; yet when this day comes, the thick
veil that blinds their eyes shall be removed, 2 Cor. iii. 16;
and divine grace shall melt and renew their hard hearts,
"and they shall look on him whom they have pierced,
and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 313
only son, and shall be in bitterness, as one that is in bit
terness for his first born," Zecb. xii. 10. &c. And then
shall the house of Israel be saved: the Jews in all their
dispersions shall cast away their old infidelity, and shall
wonderfully have their hearts changed, and abhor them
selves for their past unbelief and obstinacy ; and shall
flow together to the blessed Jesus, penitently, humbly,
and joyfully owning him as their glorious King and only
Saviour, and shall with all their hearts, as with one heart
and voice, declare his praises unto other nations.
Nothing is more certainly foretold than this national
conversion of the Jews is in the llth chapter of Romans.
And there are also many passages of the Old Testament
which cannot be interpreted in any other sense, which I
cannot now stand to mention. Besides the prophecies
of the calling of the Jews, we have a remarkable seal of
the fulfilment of this great event in providence, by a thing
which is a kind of continual miracle, viz. their being pre
served a distinct nation in such a dispersed condition for
above 1600 years. The world affords nothing else like
it. There is undoubtedly a remarkable hand of provi
dence in it. When they shall be called, then shall that
ancient people, that were alone God's people for so long
a time, be God's people again, never to be rejected more :
they shall then be gathered into one fold together with
the Gentiles; and so also shall the remains of the ten
tribes, wherever they be, and though they have been
rejected much longer than the Jews, "be brought in with
their brethren the Jews. The prophecies of Hosea espe
cially seem to hold this forth, that in the future glorious
times of the church, both Judah and Ephraim, or Judah
and the ten tribes, shall be brought in together, and shall
be united as one people, as they formerly were under
David and Solomon; as Hos. i. 11. and so in the last
chapter of Hosea, and other parts of his prophecy.
Though we do not know the time in which this con
version of the nation of Israel will come to pass ; yet thus
much we may determine by scripture, that it will be be
fore the glory of the Gentile part of the church shall be
fully accomplished ; because it is said, that their coming
in shall be life from the dead to the Gentiles, Rom. xi.
12. 15.
(5.) Then shall also Satan's heathenish kingdom be
overthrown. Gross heathenism now possesses a great
part of the earth, and there are supposed to be more hea
thens now in the world, than of all other professions
27
314 A HISTORY OP THE
taken together, Jews, Mahometans, or Christians. But
then the heathen nations shall be enlightened with the
glorious gospel. There will be a wonderful spirit of
pity towards them, and zeal for their instruction and
conversion put into multitudes, and many shall go forth
and carry the gospel unto them ; and then shall the joy
ful sound be heard among them, and the Sun of Right
eousness shall then arise with his glorious light shining
on those many vast regions of the earth that have been
covered with heathenish darkness for many thousand
years, many of them doubtless ever since the times of
Moses and Abraham, and have Iain thus long in a miser
able condition, under the cruel tyranny of the devil, who
has all this while blinded and befooled them, and dom
ineered over them, and made a prey of them from gene
ration to generation. Now the glad tidings of the gos
pel shall sound there, and they shall be brought out of
darkness into marvellous light.
It is promised, that heathenism shall thus be destroyed
in many places. God has said, that the gods that have
not made these heavens and this earth, shall perish from
the earth, and from under these heavens, Jer. x. 11. and
that he will utterly abolish idols, Isa. ii. 18. — Then shall
the many nations of Africa, the nations of negroes, and
other heathens who chiefly fill that quarter of the world,
who now seem to be in a state but little above the beasts,
and in many respects much below them, be enlightened
with glorious light, and delivered from all their darkness,
and shall become a civil, Christian, understanding, and
holy people. Then shall the vast continent of America,
which now in so great a part of it is covered with bar
barous ignorance and cruelty, be every where covered
with glorious gospel light and Christian love; and in
stead of worshipping the devil, as now they do, they
shall serve God, and praises shall be sung every where
to the Lord Jesus Christ, the blessed Saviour of the
world. So may we expect it will be in that great and
populous part of the world, the East Indies, which are
now mostly inhabited by the worshippers of the devil ;
and so throughout that vast country Great Tartary : and
then the kingdom of Christ will be established in those
continents which have been more lately discovered to
wards the north and south poles, where now men differ
very little from the wild beasts, excepting that they wor
ship the devil, and beasts do not. The same will be the
case with respect to those countries which have never
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 315
yet been discovered. Thus will be gloriously fulfilled
that in Isa. xxxv. I. "The wilderness and the solitary
place shall be glad for them : and the desert shall rejoice,
and blossom as the rose." See also verses 6, 7.
2. Having thus shown wherein this overthrow of Sa
tan's kingdom will consist, I come now to the other thing
to be observed concerning it, viz. its universal extent.
The visible kingdom of Satan shall be overthrown, and
the kingdom of Christ set up on the ruins of it, every
where throughout the whole habitable globe. New shall
the promise made to Abraham be fulfilled, that " in him
and in his seed all the families of the earth shall Be bless
ed ;" and Christ now shall become the desire of all na
tions, agreeable to Haggai ii. 7. Now the kingdom of
Christ shall in the most strict and literal sense be ex
tended to all nations, and the whole earth. There are
many passages of scripture that can be understood in no
other sense. What can be more universal than that in
Isa. xi. 9. "For the earth shall be full of the knowledge
of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea." As much as
to say, as there is no part of the channel or cavity of the
sea any where, but what is covered with water ; so there
shall be no part of the world of mankind but what shall
be covered with the knowledge of God. So it is foretold
in Isa. xlv. 22. that all the ends of the earth shall look to
Christ, and be saved. And to show that the words are
to be understood in the most universal sense, it is said
in the next verse, " I have sworn by myself, the word is
gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not
return, that unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue
shall swear."
So the most universal expression is used, Dan. vii. 27.
" And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of
the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to
the people of the saints of the Most High God." You see
the expression includes all under the whole heaven.
When the devil was cast out of the Roman empire, be
cause that was the highest and principal part of the world,
and the other nations that were left were low and mean
in comparison of those of that empire, it was represented
as Satan's being cast out of heaven to the earth, Rev.
xii. 9. but it is represented that he shall be cast out of
the earth too, and shut up in hell, Rev. xx. 1, 2, 3.— This
is the greatest revolution by far that ever came to pass:
therefore it is said in Rev. xvi. 17, 18, that on the pour
ing out of the seventh vial, there was a great earthquake,
316
A HISTORY OF THE
such as was not since men were upon earth, so mighty
an earthquake and so great. And this is the third great
dispensation of providence which is in scripture com
pared to Christ's coming to judgment. So it is in Rev.
xvi. 15. There, after the sixth vial, and after the devil's
armies were gathered together to their great battle, and
just before Christ's glorious victory over them, it is said,
" Behold I come quickly ; blessed is he that watcheth,
and keepeth his garments." So it is called Christ's com
ing in 2 Thess. ii. 8. Speaking of Antichrist, it is said,
*' and then shall that wicked be revealed, whom the Lord
shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall de
stroy with the brightness of his coming." See also Dan.
vii. 13, 14, where Christ's coming to set up his kingdom
on earth, and to destroy Antichrist, is called coming with
clouds of heaven. And this is more like Christ's last
coming to judgment, than any of the preceding dispen
sations which are so called, on these accounts :
(1.) That the dispensation is so much greater and
more universal, and so more like the day of judgment,
which respects the whole world.
(2.) On account of the great spiritual resurrection
there will be of the church of God accompanying it, more
resembling the general resurrection at the end of the
world than any other. This spiritual resurrection is
the resurrection spoken of as attended with judgment,
Rev. xx. 4.
(3.) Because of the terrible judgments and fearful de
struction which shall now be executed on God's ene
mies. There will doubtless at the introducing of this
dispensation be a visible and awful hand of God against
blasphemers, deists, and obstinate heretics, and other
enemies of Christ, terribly destroying them, with remark
able tokens of wrath and vengeance ; and especially will
this dispensation be attended with terrible judgments on
Antichrist ; and the cruel persecutors who belong to the
church of Rome, shall in a most awful manner be de
stroyed ; which is compared to a casting of Antichrist
into the burning flame, Dan. vii. 11. and to casting him
alive into the lake that burns with fire and brimstone,
Rev. xix. 20.
Then shall this cruel persecuting church suffer those
judgments from God, which shall be far more dreadful
than her crudest persecutions of the saints, agreeable to
Rev. xviii. 6, 7. — The judgments which God shall execute
on the enemies of the church, are so great, that they are
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 317
compared to God's sending great hailstones from hea
ven upon them, every one of the weight of a talent, as it
is said on the pouring out of the seventh vial, Rev. xvi.
21. "And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven,
every stone about the weight of a talent : and men blas
phemed God, because of the plague of the hail; for the
plague thereof was exceeding great." And now shall
be that treading of the wine press spoken of, Rev. xiv.
19, 20.
(4.) This shall put an end to the church's suffering
state, and shall be attended with their glorious and joy
ful praises. The church's afflicted state is long, being
continued, excepting some short intermissions, from the
resurrection of Christ to this time. But now shall a final
end be put to her suffering state. Indeed after this, near
the end of the world, the church shall be greatly threat
ened ; but it is said, it shall be but for a little season,
Rev. xx. 3, for as the times of the church's rest are but
short, before the long day of her afflictions are at an
end ; so whatever affliction she may suffer after this, it
will be very short ; but otherwise the day of the church's
affliction and persecution shall now come to a final end.
The scriptures, in many places, speak of this time as the
end of the suffering state of the church. So Isa. li. 22.
God says to his church with respect to this time, " be
hold, I have taken out of thine hand the cup of trembling,
even the dregs of the cup of my fury, thou shalt no more
drink it again." Then shall that be proclaimed to the
church, Isa. xl. 1, 2, "Comfort ye, comfort ye my peo
ple, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jeru
salem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplish
ed, that her iniquity is pardoned : for she hath received
of the Lord's hand double for all her sins." Also that in
Isa. liv. 8, 9. belongs to this time. And so that in Isa.
Ix. 20, " The Lord shall be thine everlasting light, and
the days of thy mourning shall be ended." And so
Zeph. iii. 15, " The Lord hath taken away thy judgments,
he hath cast out thine enemy: the King of Israel, even
the Lord, is in the midst of thee : thou shalt not see evil
any more."
The time which had been before this, had been the
church's sowing time, wherein she sowed in tears and
in blood ; but now is her harvest, wherein she will come
again rejoicing, bringing her sheaves with her. Now
the time of the travail of the woman clothed with the
sun is at an end : now she hath brought forth her son ,
27*
318 A HISTORY OF THE
for this glorious setting up of the kingdom of Christ
through the world, is what the church had been in tra
vail for, with such terrible pangs, for so many ages : Isa.
xxvi. 17. "Like as a woman with child that draweth
near the time of her delivery, is in pain, and crieth
out in her pangs ; so have we been in thy sight, O Lord."
See Isa. Ix. 20. and Ixi. 10, 11. And now the church
shall forget her sorrow, since a man child is born into
the world : now succeed her joyful praise and triumph.
Her praises shall then go up to God from all parts of the
earth ; as Isa. xlii. 10, 11, 12. And praise shall not only
fill the earth, but also heaven. The church on earth,
and the church in heaven, shall both gloriously rejoice
and praise God, as with one heart, on that occasion.
Without doubt it will be a time of very distinguished
joy and praise among the holy prophets and apostles,
and the other saints in heaven : Rev. xviii. 20. " Rejoice
over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and pro
phets, for God hath avenged you on her." See how
universal these praises will be in Isa. xliv. 23, " Sing, O
ye heavens, for the Lord hath done it : shout, ye lower
parts of the earth : break forth into singing, ye moun
tains, O forest, and every tree therein : for the Lord hath
redeemed Jacob, and glorified himself in Israel." See
what joyful praises are sung to God on this occasion by
the universal church in heaven and earth, in the begin
ning of the 19th chapter of Revelation.
(5.) This dispensation is above all preceding ones like
Christ's coming to judgment, in that it so puts an end to
the former state of the world, and introduces the ever
lasting kingdom of Christ. Now Satan's visible king
dom shall be overthrown, after it had stood ever since
the building of Babel; and the old heavens and the old
earth shall in a greater measure be passed away then
than before, and the new heavens and new earth set up
in a far more glorious manner than ever before.
Thus I have shown how the success of Christ's pur
chase has been carried on through the times of the af
flicted state of the Christian church, from Christ's resur
rection, until Antichrist is fallen, and Satan's visible
kingdom on earth is overthrown. — Therefore I come
now,
Secondly, To show how the success of redemption
will be carried on through that space wherein the Chris
tian church shall for the most part be in a state of peace
and prosperity. And in order to this, I would,
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 319
1 Speak of the prosperous state of the church through
the greater part of this period.
2. Of the great apostasy there shall be towards the
close of it: how greatly then the church shall be threat
ened by her enemies for a short time.
I. I would speak of the prosperous state of the church
through the greater part of this period. And in doing
this, I would, 1. Describe this prosperous state of the
church; 2. Say something of its duration.
1st. I would describe the prosperous state the church
shall be in.
And, in the general, I would observe two things.
1. That this'is most properly the time of the kingdom
of heaven upon earth. Though the kingdom of heaven
was in a degree set up soon after Christ's resurrection,
and in a further degree in the time of Constantine ; and
though the Christian church in all ages of it is called the
kingdom of heaven ; yet this time that we are upon, is
the principal time of the kingdom of heaven upon earth,
the time principally intended by the prophecies of Daniel,
which speak of the kingdom of heaven, whence the Jews
took the name of the kingdom of heaven.
2. Now is the principal fulfilment of all the prophecies
of the Old Testament which speak of the glorious times
of the gospel which shall be in the latter days. Though
there has been a glorious fulfilment of those prophecies
already, in the times of the apostles, and of Constantine;
yet the expressions are too high to suit any other time
entirely, but that which is to succeed the fall of Anti
christ. This is most properly the glorious day of the
gospel. Other times are only forerunners and prepara
tories to this : other times were the seed time, but this is
the harvest. — But more particularly,
(1.) It will be a time of great light and knowledge.
The present days are days of darkness, in comparison
of those days. The light of that glorious time shall be
so great, that it is represented as though there should
then be no night, but only day ; no evening nor dark
ness. So Zecti. xiv. 6, 7. " And it shall come to pass in
that day, that the light shall not be clear, nor dark. But
it shall be one day^ which shall be known to the Lord,
not day, nor night : but it shall come to pass, that at
evening time it shall be light." — It is further represented,
as though God would then give such light to his church,
that it should so much exceed the glory of the light of
the sun and moon, that they should be ashamed : Isa.
320 A HISTORY OP THE
xxiv. 23. " Then the moon shall be confounded, and the
sun ashamed, when the Lord of hosts shall reign in
Mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his ancients,
gloriously."
There is a kind of veil now cast over the greater part
of the world, which keeps them in darkness : but then
this veil shall be destroyed : Isa. xxv. 7. " And he will
destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast
over all people, and the veil that is spread over all na
tions." And then all countries and nations, even those
which are now most ignorant, shall be full of light and
knowledge. Great knowledge shall prevail every where.
It may be hoped, that then many of the Negroes and
Indians will be divines, and that excellent books will
be published in Africa, in Ethiopia, in Tartary, and
other now the most barbarous countries ; and not only
learned men, but others of more ordinary education,
shall then be very knowing in religion : Isa. xxxii. 3, 4.
"The eyes of them that see, shall not be dim ; and the
ears of them that hear, shall hearken. The heart also
of the rash shall understand knowledge." Knowledge
then shall be very universal among all sorts of persons ;
agreeable to Jer. xxxi. 34. " And they shall teach no
more every man his neighbour, and every man his bro
ther, saying, Know the Lord : for they shall all know
me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them."
There shall then be a wonderful unravelling of the dif
ficulties in the doctrines of religion, and clearing up of
seeming inconsistencies: so "crooked things shall be
made straight, and rough places shall be made plain,"
and darkness shall become light before God's people.
Difficulties in scripture shall then be cleared up, and
wonderful things shall be discovered in the word of God,
which were never discovered before. The great dis
covery of those things in religion which had been before
kept hid, seems to be compared to removing the veil, and
discovering the ark of the testimony to the people, which
before used to be kept in the secret part of the temple,
and was never seen by them. Thus, at the sounding of
the seventh angel when it is proclaimed, " that the king
doms of this world are become the kingdoms of our
Lord and of his Christ ;" it is added that " the temple
of God was opened in heaven; and there was seen
in his temple the ark of his testament." So great
shall be the increase of knowledge in this time, that hea-
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 32l
ven shall be as it were opened to the church of God on
earth.
(2.) It shall be a time of great holiness. Now vital
religion shall every where prevail and reign. Religion
shall not be an empty profession, as it now mostly is, but
holiness of heart and life shall abundantly prevail. Those
times shall be an exception from what Christ says of the
ordinary state of the church, viz. that there shall be but
few saved ; for now holiness shall become general : Is.
lx. 21. " Thy people also shall be all righteous." Not
that there will be none remaining in a Christless condi
tion; but that visible wickedness shall be suppressed
every where, and true holiness shall become general,
though not universal. And it shall be a wonderful time,
not only for the multitude of godly men, but for eminen-
cy of grace : Isa. Ixv. 20. " There shall be no more thence
an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his
days: for the child shall die an hundred years old, but
the sinner being an hundred years old, shall be accurs
ed." And Zech. xii. 8. " He that is feeble among them
at that day shall be as David ; and the house of David
shall be as God, as the angel of the Lord before them.'1
And holiness shall then be^as it were inscribed on every
thing, on all men's common business and employments,
and the common utensils of life : all shall be as it were
dedicated to God, and applied to holy purposes : every
thing shall then be done to the glory of God : Isa. xxiii.
18. " And her merchandise and her hire shall be holiness
to the Lord." And so Zech. xiv. 20, 21. — And as God's
people then shall be eminent in holiness of heart, so they
shall be also in holiness of life and practice.
(3.) It shall be a time wherein religion shall in every
respect be uppermost in the world. It shall be had in '
great esteem and honour. The saints have hitherto for
the most part been kept under, and wicked men have
governed. But now they will be uppermost. The king
doms shall be given into the hands of the saints of the
"Most High God," Dan. vii. 27. "And they shall reign
on earth," Rev. v. 10. "They shall live and reign with
Christ a thousand years," Rev. xx. 4. In that day, such
persons as are eminent for true piety and religion, shall
be chiefly promoted to places of trust and authority.
Vital religion shall then take possession of kings' palaces
and thrones; and those who are in highest advance
ment shall be holy men: Isa. xlix. 23. "And kings shall
be thy nursing fathers, and their queens thy nursing
322 A HISTORY OF THE
mothers." Kings shall employ all their power, and glory,
and riches, for the advancement of the honour and'glory
of Christ, and the good of his church : Isa. Ix. 16. " Thou
shalt also suck the milk of the Gentiles, and shalt suck
the breasts of kings." And the great men of the world,
and the rich merchants, and others who have great
wealth and influence, shall devote all to Christ and his
church; Psa. xlv. 12. "The daughter of Tyre shall be
there with a gift, even the rich among the people shall
entreat thy favour."
(4.) Those will be times of great peace and love.
There shall then be universal peace and a good under
standing among the nations of the world, instead of such
confusion, wars, and bloodshed, as have hitherto been
from one age to another: Isa. ii. 4. " And he shall judge
among the nations, and shall rebuke many people : and
they shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their
spears into pruning hooks : nation shall not lift up sword
against nation, neither shall they learn war any more."
So it is represented as if all instruments of war should
be destroyed, as being become useless : Psa. xl vi. 9. " He
maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth : he
breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder: he
burneth the chariot in the fire." See also Zech. ix. 10.
Then shall all nations dwell quietly and safely, without
fear of any enemy. Isa. xxxii. 18. " And my people shall
dwell in a peaceable habitation, and in sure dwellings,
and in quiet resting places." Also Zech. viii. 10, 11.
And then shall malice, and envy, and wrath, and re
venge, be suppressed every where, and peace and love
shall prevail between one man and another; which is
most elegantly set forth in Isa. xi. 6 — 10. Then shall
*there be peace and love between rulers and ruled. Ru
lers shall love their people, and with all their might seek
their best good ; and the people love their rulers, and
shall joyfully submit to them, and give them that honour
which is their due. And so shall there be an happy love
between ministers and their people: Mai. iv. 6. "And
he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and
the heart of the children to their fathers." Then shall
flourish in an eminent manner those Christian virtues
of meekness, forgiveness, long-suffering, gentleness,
goodness, brotherly kindness, those excellent fruits of
the Spirit. Men, in their temper and disposition, shall
then be like the Lamb of God, the lovely Jesus. The
body shall be conformed to the head.
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 323
Then shall all the world be united in one amiable so
ciety. All nations, in all parts of the world, on every
side of the globe, shall then be knit together in sweet
harmony. All parts of God's church shall assist and pro
mote the spiritual good of one another. A communica
tion shall then be upheld between all parts of the world
to that end; and the art of navigation, which is now
applied so much to favour men's covetousness arid pride,
and is used so much by wicked debauched men, shall
then be consecrated to God, and applied to holy uses, as
we read in Isa. Ix. 5 — 9. And it will then be a time
wherein men will be abundant in expressing their love
one to another, not only in words, but in deeds of charity,
as we learn, Isa. xxxii. 5. " The vile person shall be no
more called liberal, nor the churl said to be bountiful ;"
and, verse 8. " But the liberal deviseth liberal things, and
by liberal things shall he stand."
(5.) It will be a time of excellent order in the church
of Christ. The true government and discipline of the
church will then be settled and put into practice. All
the world shall then be as one church, one orderly, regu
lar, beautiful society. And as the body shall be one, so
the members shall be in beautiful proportion to each
other. Then shall that be verified in Psa. cxxii. 3. "Je
rusalem is builded as a city, that is compact together."
(6.) The church of God shall then be beautiful and
glorious on these accounts ; yea it will appear in perfec
tion of beauty : Isa. Ix. 1. "Arise, shine, for thy light is
come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee." Isa.
Ixi. 10. " He hath covered me with the robe of righteous
ness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments,
and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels." On
these forementioned accounts, the church will then be
the greatest image of heaven itself.
(7.) That will be a time of the greatest temporal pros
perity. Such a spiritual state as we have just described,
has a natural tendency to temporal prosperity : it has a
tendency to health and long life ; and that this will ac
tually be the case, is evident by Zech. viii. 4. "Thus
saith the Lord of hosts, There shall yet old men and old
women dwell in the streets of Jerusalem, and every man
with his staff in his hand for very age." It has also a
natural tendency to procure ease, quietness, pleasant
ness, and cheerfulness of mind, and also wealth, and
great increase of children; as is intimated in Zech. viii.
5. " And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and
324
A HISTORY OF THE
girls playing in the streets thereof." — But further, the
temporal prosperity of the people of God will also be pro
moted by a remarkable blessing from heaven: Isa. Ixv.
21. "They shall build houses, and inhabit them; and
they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them."
And in Mic. iv. 4. " But they shall sit every man under
his vine, and under his fig tree, and none shall make
them afraid." Zech. viii. 12. "For the seed shall be pros
perous, the vine shall give her fruit, and the ground shall
give her increase, and the heavens shall give their dew,
and I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all
these things." See also Jer. xxxi. 12, 13. and Amos ix.
13. Yea then they shall receive all manner of tokens of
God's presence, and acceptance, and favour: Jer. xxxiii.
9. "And it shall be to me a name of joy, a praise and an
honour before all the nations of the earth, which shall
hear all the good that I do unto them : and they shall
fear and tremble for all the goodness and for all the pros
perity that I procure unto it." Even the days of Solo
mon were but an image of those days, as to the tempo
ral prosperity which shall obtain in them.
(8.) It will also be a time of great rejoicing: Isa. xxxv.
10. "And the ransomed of the Lord shall return and
come to Zion with songs, and everlasting joy upon their
heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow
and sighing shall flee away." Chap. Iv. 12. "For ye shall
go out with joy, and be led forth with peace : the moun
tains and the hills shall break forth before you." Chap.
Ixvi. J 1. "That ye may suck, and be satisfied with the
breasts of her consolations: that ye may milk out, and
be delighted with the abundance of her glory." Chap,
xii. 3. " With joy shall ye draw water out of the wells
of salvation." Then will be a time of feasting. That
will be the church's glorious wedding day, so far as her
wedding with Christ shall ever be upon earth : Rev. xix.
7. " Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him ;
for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath
made herself ready." Verse 9. " Blessed are they which
are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb." But I
come now,
2dly. To say something of the duration of this state of
the church's prosperity. On this I shall be very brief.
The scriptures every where represent it to be of long
continuance. The former intervals of rest and pros
perity, as we before observed, are represented to be but
short ; but the representations of this state are quite dif-
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 325
ferent : Rev. xx. 4. " And I saw the souls of them that
were beheaded for the witness of Jesus — and they lived
and reigned with Christ a thousand years." Isa. Ix. 15.
44 Whereas thou hast been forsaken and hated, so that no
man went through thee, I will make thee an eternal ex
cellency, a joy of many generations."
This may suffice as to the prosperous state of the
church through the greater part of the period from the
destruction of Satan's visible kingdom in the world to
Christ's appearing in the clouds of heaven to judgment.
II. I now come to speak of the great apostasy there
should be towards the close of this period, and how
eminently the church should be for a short time threat
ened by her enemies. And this I shall do under three
particulars.
1. A little before the end of the world, there shall be a
very great apostasy, wherein great part of the world
shall fall away from Christ and his church. It is said in
Rev. xx. 3. that Satan should be cast into the bottomless
pit, and shut up, and have a seal set upon him, that he
should deceive the nations no more until the thousand
years should- be fulfilled; and that after that he must
be loosed out of his prison for a little season. And ac
cordingly we are told, in the 7th and 8th verses, that
when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be
loosed out of his prison, and should go forth to deceive
the nations, which are in the four quarters of the earth,
Gog and Magog. Which seems to show as though the
apostasy would be very general. The nations of the
four quarters of the earth shall be deceived ; and the
number of those who shall now turn enemies to Christ
shall be vastly great, as the army of Gog and Magog is
represented in Ezekiel, and as it is said in Rev. xx. 8.
that the number of them is as the sand of the sea, and
that they went up on the breadth of the earth, as though
they were an army big enough to reach from one side
of the earth to the other.
Thus after such an happy and glorious season, such a
long day of light and holiness, of love, and peace, and
joy, now it shall begin again to be a dark time. Satan
shall begin to set up his dominion again in the world.
This world shall again become a scene of darkness and
wickedness. The bottomless pit of hell shall be opened,
and devils shall come up again out of it, and a dreadful
smoke shall ascend to darken the world. And the church
of Christ, instead of extending to the utmost bounds of
28
326 A HISTORY OF THE
the world, as it did before, shall be reduced to narrow
limits again. The world of mankind being continued so
long in a state of such great prosperity, shall now begin
to abuse their prosperity, to serve their lust and corrup
tion. This we learn from Luke xvii. 26. &c.
2. Those apostates shall make great opposition to the
church of God. The church shall seem to be eminently
threatened with a sudden and entire overthrow by them.
It is said, Satan shall gather them together to battle, as
the sand on the sea "shore ; and they went up on the
breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the
saints about, and the beloved city. So that this beloved
city shall seem just ready to be swallowed up by them :
for her enemies shall not only threaten her, but shall ac
tually have gathered together against her ; and not only
so, but shall have besieged her, shall have compassed
her about on every side.
There is nothing in the prophecy which seems to hold
forth as though the church had actually fallen into their
hands, as the church had fallen into the hands of Anti
christ, to whom it was given to make war with the saints,
and to overcome them. God will never suffer this to be
again after the fall of Antichrist ; for then the day of her
mourning shall be ended. But the church shall seem
most eminently threatened with utter and sudden de
struction.
3. Now the state of things will seem most remarkably
to call for Christ's immediate appearance to judgment.
For then the world shall be filled with the most aggra
vated wickedness that ever it was. For much "the
greater part of the world shall have become visibly
wicked and open enemies to Christ, and their wicked
ness shall be dreadfully aggravated by their apostasy.
Before the fall of Antichrist, most of the world was full
of visibly wicked men. But the greater part of these are
poor heathens, who never enjoyed the light of the gos
pel ; and others are those that have been bred up in the
Mahometan or Popish darkness. But these are those
that have apostatized from the Christian church, and the
visible kingdom of Christ, in which they enjoyed the
great light and privileges of the glorious times of the
church, which shall be incomparably greater than the
light and privileges which the church of God enjoys now.
This apostasy will be most like the apostasy of the devils
of any that ever had before been: for the devils aposta
tized, and turned enemies to Christ, though they enjoyed
WORK OF REDEMPTION 327
the light of heaven ; and these will apostatize, anil turn
enemies to him, though they have enjoyed the light and
privileges of" the glorious times of the church. That such
should turn open and avowed enemies to Christ, and
should seek the ruin of his church, will cry aloud for
such immediate vengeance as was executed on the devils
when they fell.
The wickedness of the world will remarkably call for
Christ's immediate appearing in flaming fire to take ven
geance on them, because of the way in which they shall
manifest their wickedness, which will be by scoffing and
blaspheming Christ and his holy religion ; and particu
larly, they will scoff at the notion of Christ's coming to
judgment, of which the church shall be in expectation,
and of which they will warn them. For now doubtless
will be another fulfilment, and the greatest fulfilment, of
2 Pet. iii. 3, 4. "Knowing this first, that there shall come
in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts,
and saying, Where is the promise of his coming] For
since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they
were from the beginning of the creation." They shall
be in no expectation of the coming of Christ to judgment,
and shall laugh at the notion. They shall trample all
such things under foot, and shall give up themselves to
their lusts, or to eat and drink, and wallow in sensual
delights, as though they were to be here for ever. They
shall despise the warnings the church shall give them of
the coming of Christ to judgment, as the people of the
old world despised what Noah told them of the approach
ing flood, and as the people of Sodom did when Lot said
to them, " the Lord will destroy this city." Their wick
edness on this account will cry aloud to heaven for
Christ's appearing in flaming fire to take vengeance of
his enemies; and also because another way that they
shall exercise their wickedness will be in the wicked de
sign and violent attempt they shall be engaged in against
the holy city of God, against that holy city, wherein late
ly, and for so long a time, so much of the religion of
Christ had been seen. They shall then be about to per
petrate the most horrid design against this church.
And the numerousness of the wicked that shall then
be, is another thing which shall especially call for Christ's
coming: for the world will doubtless then be exceeding
full of people, having continued so long in so great a
state of prosperity, without such terrible desolating ex
tremities, as wars, pestilences, and the like, to diminish
328 A HISTORY OF THE
them. And the most of this world, which shall be so
populous, will be such wicked contemptuous apostates
from God. Undoubtedly that will be a day wherein the
world will be by far fuller of wickedness than ever be
fore it was from the foundation of it. And if the wicked
ness of the old world, when men began to multiply on
the earth, called for the destruction of the world by a
deluge of waters, this wickedness will as much call for
its destruction by a deluge of fire.
Again, the circumstances of the church at that day
will also eminently call for the immediate appearing of
Christ, as they will be compassed about by their blas
phemous murderous enemies, just ready to be swallow
ed up by them. And it will be a most distressing time
with the church, excepting the comfort they will have in
the hope of deliverance from God : for all other help will
seem to fail. The case will be come to the last extrem
ity, and there will be an immediate need that Christ
should come to their deliverance. And though the
church shall be so eminently threatened, yet so will
Providence order it, that it shall be preserved until
Christ shall appear in his immediate presence, coming
in the glory of his Father with all his holy angels. And
then will come the time when all the elect shall be gath
ered in. That work of conversion which has been car
ried on from the beginning of the church after the fall
through all those ages, shall be carried on no more.
There never shall another soul be converted. Every
one of those many millions, whose names were written
in the book of life before the foundation of the world,
shall be brought in ; not one soul shall be lost. And the
mystical body of Christ, which has been growing since
it first began in the days of Adam, will be complete as
to number of parts, having every one of its members.
In this respect, the work of redemption will now be fin
ished. And now the end for which the means of grace
have been instituted shall be obtained. All that effect
which was intended to be accomplished by them shall
now be accomplished.
SECTION II.
THUS I have shown how the success of Christ's redemp
tion has been accomplished during the continuance of
the Christian church under the means of grace. We
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 329
have seen what great revolutions there have been, and
are to be, during this space of time; how the great
wheels of providence have gone round for the accom
plishment of that kind of success of Christ's purchase,
which consists in the bestowment of grace on the elect :
and we are, in the prosecution of the subject, come to
the time when all the wheels have gone round ; the
course of things in this state of it is finished, and all
things are ripe for Christ's coming to judgment.
You may remember, that when I began to discourse
of this third proposition, viz. That from the resurrection
of Christ to the end of the world, the whole time is taken
up in procuring the success and effect of Christ's pur
chase of redemption, I observed, that the success of
Jhrist's purchase is of two kinds, consisting either in
grace or glory ; and that the success consisting in the
former of these, is to be seen in those works of God
which are wrought during those ages that the church is
continued under the means of grace; and that the suc
cess, consisting in the latter, will chiefly be accomplished
at the day of judgment.
Having already shown how the former kind of suc
cess has been accomplished, I come now, in the second
place, to the latter, viz. that kind of success which is ac
complished in the bestowment of glory on the church,
which shall chiefly be bestowed on the church at the
day of judgment. — And here I would mention two or
three things in the general concerning this kind of suc
cess of Christ's purchase.
1. How great the success of Christ's purchase is,
chiefly appears in this. The success of Christ's pur
chase does summarily consist in the salvation of the
elect. But this bestowment of glory is eminently called
their salvation : Heb. ix. 28. " To them that look for him,
shall he appear the second time, without sin unto salva
tion." — So it is called redemption, being eminently that
wherein the redemption of the church consists. So in
Eph. iv. 30. " Sealed unto the day of redemption ;" and
Luke xxi. 28. and Eph. i. 14. " Redemption of the pur
chased possession."
2. All that is before this, while the church is under the
means 6T grace, is only to make way for the success
which is to be accomplished in the bestowment of glory.
The means of grace are to fit for glory ; and God's grace
itself is bestowed on the elect to make them meet for
glory.
28*
330 A HISTORY OP THE
3. All those glorious things which were brought to
pass for the church while under the means of grace, are
but images and shadows of this. So were those glori
ous things which were accomplished for the church in
the days" of Constantine the Great; and so is all that
glory which is to be accomplished in the glorious times
of the church which are to succeed the falfof Antichrist.
As great as it is, it is all but a shadow of what will be
bestowed at the day of judgment: and therefore, as I
have already often observed, all those preceding glorious
events, by which God wrought glorious things for his
church, are spoken of in scripture as images of Christ's
last coming to judgment.
But I hasten more particularly to show how this kind
of success of Christ's purchase is accomplished.
1. Christ will appear in the glory of his Father, with
all his holy angels, coming in the clouds of heaven.
When the world are thus revelling in their wickedness,
and compassing the holy city about, just ready to de
stroy it, and when the church is reduced to such a great
strait, then shall the glorious Redeemer appear. He
through whom this redemption has all along been car
ried on, he shall appear in the sight of the world ; the
light of his glory shall break forth ;"the whole world shall
immediately have notice of it, and they shall lift up their
eyes and behold this wonderful sight. It is said, "every
eye shall see him," Rev. i. 7. — Christ shall appear coming
in his human nature, in that same body which was
brought forth in a stable, and laid in a manger, and
which afterwards was so cruelly used, and nailed to the
cross.
Men shall now lift up their eyes, and see him coming
in such majesty and glory as now is to us utterly incon
ceivable. The glory of the sun in a clear firmament,
will be but darkness in comparison of it; and all the glo
rious angels and archangels shall attend upon him, thou
sand thousands ministering to him, and ten thousand
times ten thousand round about him. How different a
person will he then appear from what he did at his first
coming, when he was as a root out of a dry ground, a poor,
despised, afflicted man ! How different now is his appear
ance, in the midst of those glorious angels, principalities,
and powers, in heavenly places, attending him as his or
dinary servants, from what it was when in the midst of
a ring of soldiers, with his mock robe and his crown of
thorns, to be buffeted and spit upon, or hanging on the
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 331
cross between two thieves, with a multitude of his ene
mies about him triumphing over him !
This sight will be a most unexpected sight to the wick'
ed world : it will come as a cry at midnight : they shall be
taken in the midst of their wickedness, and it will give
them a dreadful alarm. It will at once break up their
revels, their eating, and drinking, and carousing. It will
put a quick end to the design of the great army that will
then be compassing the camp of the saints : it will make
them let drop their weapons out of their hands. The
world, which will then be very full of people, most of
whom will be wicked men, will then be filled with dolo
rous shrieking and crying; for all the kindreds of the
earth shall wail because of him, Rev. i. 7. And, where
shall they hide themselves] — How will the sight of that
awful majesty terrify them when taken in the midst of
their wickedness ! Then they shall see who he is, what
kind of a person he is, whom they have mocked and
scoffed at, and whose church they have been endeavour
ing to overthrow. This sight will change their voice.
The voice of their laughter and singing, while they are
marrying and giving in marriage, and the voice of theii
scoffing, shall be changed into hideous, yea hellish yelling.
Their countenances shall be changed from a show of car
nal mirth, haughty pride, and contempt of God's people; it
shall put on a shew of ghastly terror and amazement ;
and trembling and chattering of teeth shall seize upon
them.
But with respect to the saints, the church of Christ, it
shall be a joyful and most glorious sight to them : for this
sight will at once deliver them from all fear of their ene
mies, who were before compassing them about, just
ready to swallow them up. Deliverance shall come in
their extremity : the glorious Captain of their salvation
shall appear for them, at a time when no other help ap
pears. Then shall they lift up their heads, and their re
demption shall be drawing nigh, Luke xxi. 28. — And thus
Christ will appear with infinite majesty, and yet at the
same time they shall see infinite love in his countenance
to them. And thus to see their Redeemer coming in the
clouds of heaven, will fill their hearts full of gladness.
Their countenances also shall be changed, but not as the
countenances of the wicked, but shall be changed from
being sorrowful, to be exceeding joyful and triumphant.
And now the work of redemption will be finished in an
other sense, viz. that the whole church shall be com-
332 A HISTORY OF THE
pletely and eternally freed from all persecution and mo
lestation from wicked men and devils.
2. The last trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be
raised, and the living changed. God sent forth his an
gels with a great sound of a trumpet, to gather together
his elect from the four corners of the earth in a mystical
sense, before the destruction of Jerusalem ; i. e. he sent
forth the apostles, and others, to preach the gospel all
over the world. And so in a mystical sense the great
trumpet was blown at the beginning of the glorious
times of the church. But now the great trumpet is
blown in a more literal sense, with a mighty sound,
which shakes the earth. There will be a great signal
given by a mighty sound made, which is called the voice
of the archangel, as being the angel of greatest strength,
1 Thess. iv. 16. " For the Lord himself shall descend
from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archan
gel, and with the trump of God." On the sound of the
great trumpet, the dead shall be raised every where.
Now the number of the dead is very great. How many
has death cut down for so long a time as since the world
has stood ! But then the number will be much greater
after the world shall have stood so much longer, and
through most of the remaining time will doubtless be
much fuller of inhabitants than ever it has been. All
these shall now rise from the dead. The graves shall be
opened every where in all parts of the world, and the
sea shall give up the innumerable dead that are in it,
Rev. xx. 13.
And now all the inhabitants that ever shall have been
upon the face of the earth, from the beginning of the
world to that time, shall all appear upon earth at once ;
all that ever have been of the church of God in all ages,
Adam and Eve, the first parents of mankind, and Abel,
and Seth, and Methuselah, and all the saints who were
their contemporaries, and Noah, and Abraham, and Isaac,
and Jacob, and the prophets of Israel, and the saints in
the time of Antiochus Epiphanes, and all that were of
the church in their times; and all the holy apostles of
Jesus Christ, and all the saints of their times ; and all the
holy martyrs under the ten heathen persecutions ; and
all who belonged to the church in its wilderness state,
during the dark times of Antichrist ; and all the holy
martyrs who have suffered under the cruelty of the
Popish persecutions ; and all the saints of the present
time ; and all the saints who are here in this assembly
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 333
among the rest ; and all that shall be from hence to the
end of the world. Now also all the enemies of the
church that have or shall be in all the ages of the world,
shall appear upon the face of the earth again ; all the
wicked killed in the flood, and the multitudes that died
all over the world among God's professing people, or
others ; all that died in all the heathen nations before
Christ, and all wicked heathens, and Jews, and Mahome
tans, and Papists that have died since ; all shall come to
gether. Sinners of all sorts*, demure hypocrites, those
who have the fairest and best outside, and open profane
drunkards, whoremasters, heretics, deists, and all cruel
persecutors, and all that have died or shall die in sin
amongst us.
And at the same time that the dead are raised, the liv
ing shall be changed. The bodies of the wicked who
shall then be living, shall be so changed as to fit them for
eternal torment without corruption ; and the bodies of
all the living saints shall be changed to be like Christ's
glorious body, 1 Cor. xv. 51, 52, 53. — The bodies of the
saints shall be so changed as to render them forever in
capable of pain, or affliction, or uneasiness ; and all that
dullness and heaviness, and all that deformity, which
their bodies had before, shall be put off; and they shall
put on strength, and beauty, and activity, and incorrup
tible unfading glory. And in such glory shall the bodies
of all the risen saints appear.
And now the work of redemption shall be finished in
another respect, viz. that all the elect shall now be actu
ally redeemed in both soul and body. Before this, the
work of redemption, as to its actual success, was but in
complete and imperfect ; for only the souls of the re
deemed were actually saved and glorified, excepting in
some few instances : but now all the bodies of the saints
shall be saved and glorified together ; all the elect shall
be glorified in the whole man, and the soul and body in
union one with the other.
3. Now shall the whole church of saints be caught up
in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and all wicked
men and devils shall be arraigned before the judgment
seat. When the dead saints are raised, then the whole
church, consisting of all the elect through all ages, will
be standing together, on the face of the earth, at least all
excepting those whose bodies were glorified before ; and
then they shall all mount up as with wings in the air to
meet Christ ; for it seems that Christ, when he comes to
334 A HISTORY OF THE
judgment, will not come quite down to the ground, but
his throne will be fixed in the air, in the region of the
clouds, whence he may be seen by all that vast multitude
that shall be gathered before him. The church of saints
therefore shall be taken up from the earth to ascend up
to their Saviour. Thus the apostle tells us, that when
the dead in Christ are raised, and the living changed,
then those who are alive and remain, shall be caught up
together with them to meet the Lord in the air, and so
shall we be ever with the Lord, 1 Thess. iv. 16, 17. What
a wonderful sight will that be, when all the many mil
lions of saints are seen thus mounting up from all parts
of the world !
Then shall the work of redemption be finished in an
other respect. Then shall the whole church be perfectly
and for ever delivered from this present evil world, for
ever forsake this cursed ground : they shall take their
everlasting leave of this earth, where they have been
strangers, and which has been for the most part such a
scene of their trouble and sorrow; where the devil for
the most part has reigned as god, and has greatly mo
lested them, and which has been such a scene of wicked
ness and abomination, where Christ their Lord has been
cruelly used ; and where they have been so hated, and
reproached, and persecuted, from age to age, through
most of the ages of the world. They shall leave it un
der foot to go to Christ, and never shall set foot on it
again. And there shall be an everlasting separation
made between them and wicked men. Before they were
mixed together, and it was impossible in many instances
to determine which were which ; but now all shall be
come visible ; both saints and sinners shall appear in
their true characters.
Then shall all the church be seen flocking together in
the air to the place where Christ shall have fixed his
throne, coming from the east and west, and north and
south, to the right hand of Christ. What a mighty cloud
of them will there be, when all that ever have been of
the church of God, all that were before Christ, all that
multitude of saints that were in the apostles' time, and
all that were in the days of Constantine the Great, and
all that were before and since the Reformation, and also
all that great multitude of saints that shall be in all the
glorious times of the church, when the whole earth shall
for so many generations be full of saints, and also all that
shall be then living when Christ shall come; I say, what
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 335
a cloud of them will there be, when all these are seen
flocking together in the region of the clouds at the right
hand of Christ !
And then also the work of redemption will be finished
in another respect, viz. that then the church shall all be
gathered together. They all belonged to one society be
fore, but yet were greatly separated with respect to the
place of their habitation ; some being in heaven, and
some on earth ; and those who were on earth together
were separated one from another, many of them by wide
oceans, and vast continents. But now they shall all be
gathered together, never to be separated any more. And
not only shall all the members of the church now be
gathered together, but all shall be gathered unto their
head, into his immediate glorious presence, never to be
separated from him any more. This never came to pass
until now.
At the same time, all wicked men and devils shall be
brought before the judgment seat of Christ. These shall
be gathered to the left hand of Christ, and, as it seems,
will still remain upon the earth, and shall not be caught
up into the air, as the saints shall be. The devil, that old
serpent, shall now be dragged up out of hell. He, that
first procured the fall and misery of mankind, and has
so set himself against their redemption, and has all along
shown himself such an inveterate enemy to the Redeem
er; now he shall never more have any thing to do with
the church of God, or be suffered in the least to afflict or
molest any member of it any more for ever. Instead of
that, now he must be judged, and receive the due reward
of his deeds. Now is come the time which he has always
dreaded, and trembled at the thought of; the time where
in he must be judged, and receive his full punishment.
He who by his temptation maliciously procured Christ's
crucifixion, and triumphed upon it, as though he had ob
tained the victory, even he shall see the consequences
of the death of Christ which he procured : for Christ's
coming to judge him in his human nature is the conse
quence of it ; for Christ obtained and purchased this glo
ry to himself by that death. Now he must stand before
that same Jesus whose death he procured, to be judged,
condemned, and eternally destroyed by him. If Satan,
the prince of hell, trembles at the thought of it thousands
of years beforehand, how much more will he tremble,
proud and stubborn as he is, when he comes to stand at
Christ's bar !
336 A HISTORY OF THE
Then shall he also stand at the bar of the saints, whom
he has so hated, and afflicted, and molested : for the
saints shall judge him with Christ : 1 Cor. vi. 3.
" Know ye not that we shall judge angels ?" Now shall
he be as it were subdued under the church's feet, agree
able to Rom. xvi. 20.— Satan, when he first tempted our
first parents to fall, deceitfully and lyingly told them, that
they should be as gods : but little did he think that the
consequence should be, that they should indeed be so
much as gods, as to be assessors with God to judge him.
Much less did he think, that that consequence would fol
low, that one of that nature which he then tempted,
one of the posterity of those persons whom he tempted,
should actually be united to God, and that as God he
should judge the world, and that he himself must stand
trembling and astonished before his judgment seat. But
thus all the devils in hell, who have so opposed Christ
and his kingdom, shall now at last stand in utmost amaze
ment and horror before Christ and his church, who shall
appear to condemn them.
Now also shall all Christ's other enemies be brought to
appear before him. Now shall the wicked proud scribes
and Pharisees, who had such a malignant hatred of Christ
while in his state of humiliation, and who persecuted
Christ to death, those before whose judgment seat Christ
was once called and stood, as a malefactor at their bar,
and those who mocked him, and buffeted him, and spit
in his face ; now shall they see Christ in his glory, as
Christ forewarned them in the time of it, Matt. xxvi. 64,
65. Then Christ^was before their judgment seat ; but
now it is their turn. They shall stand before his judg
ment seat with inconceivable horror and amazement,
with ghastly countenances, and quaking limbs, and chat
tering teeth, and knees smiting one against another.
Now also all the cruel enemies and persecutors of the
church that have been in all ages, shall corne in sight to
gether. Pharaoh and the Egyptians, Antiochus Epipha-
nes, the persecuting scribes and Pharisees, the perse
cuting heathen Emperors, Julian the apostate, the cruel
persecuting Popes and Papists, Gog and Magog, shall all
appear at once before the judgment seat of Christ. They
and the saints who have in every age been persecuted
by them, shall come in sight one of another, and must
confront one another before the great Judge, And now
shall the saints on their glorious thrones be made the
judges of those unjust kings and rulers who have before
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 337
judged and condemned them, and cruelly put them to
death. Now shall those persecutors behold the glory to
which they are arrived whom they before so cruelly de
spised and so cruelly used ; and Christ will make those
holy martyrs as it were to come and set their feet on the
necks of their persecutors ; they shall be made their foot
stool.
Thus wonderfully will the face of things be altered
from what used to be in the former times of the world ;
now will all things be coming to rights.
4. The righteousness of the church shall be manifest
ed, and all the wickedness of their enemies shall be
brought to light. Those saints who had been the objects
of hatred, reproach, and contempt in the world, and were
reviled and condemned by their persecutors without a
cause, shall now be fully vindicated. They shall now
appear clothed with the glorious robe of Christ's right
eousness. It shall be most manifest before the world,
that Christ's righteousness is theirs, and they shall as it
were gloriously shine forth in it. And then also shall
their inherent holiness be made manifest, and all their
good works shall be brought to light. The good things
which they did in secret shall now be manifested openly.
Those holy ones of God, who had been treated as though
they were the filth and offscouring of the earth, as though
they were not fit to live upon earth, as worse than beasts
or devils, shall now, when things shall appear as they
are, appear to have been the excellent of the earth. Now
God will bring forth their righteousness as the light, and
their judgment as the noon day. And now it shall ap
pear who were those wicked persons that were not fit
to live, when all the wickedness of the enemies of Christ
and his church, their pride, their malice, their cruelty,
their hatred of true religion, shall be set forth in all the
horrid acts of it, and with all its aggravations in its pro
per colours.
And now the righteous may be heard before this great
Judge, who could not be heard before those unjust judg
es. Now they shall declare their cause, and shall rise up
in judgment against their persecutors, and shall declare
how they have been treated by them. And now all the
wickedness of the wicked of the whole world shall be
brought to light. All their secret wickedness, and their
very hearts, shall be opened to view, and as it were
turned inside out before the bright light of that great
day: and things that have been spoken in the ear, in the
338 A HISTORiT OF THE
closet, and done in the dark, shall be manifested in the
light, and proclaimed before all angels and men that are,
ever were, or shall be.
5. The sentence shall be pronounced on the righteous
and the wicked. Christ, the glorious judge, shall pass
that blessed sentence on the church at his right hand,
" Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom
prepared for you from the foundation of the world."
This sentence shall be pronounced with infinite Iov7e, and
the voice will be most sweet, causing every heart to flow
with joy. Thus Christ shall pronounce a sentence of
justification on thousands and millions, who have before
had a sentence of condemnation passed upon them by
their persecuting rulers. He will thus put honour upon
those who have been before despised : he will own them
for his, and will as it were put a crown of glory upon
their heads before the world; and then shall they shine
forth as the sun with Jesus Christ in glory and joy, in the
sight of all their enemies.
And then shall the sentence of condemnation be passed
on the wicked, " Depart, ye cursed, into everlasting fire,
prepared for the devil and his angels." Thus shall the
church's enemies be condemned ; in which sentence of
condemnation, the holy martyrs, who have suffered from
them, shall concur. When the words of this sentence
are pronounced, they will strike every heart of those at
the left hand with inconceivable horror and amazement.
Every syllable of it will be more terrible than a stream
of lightning through their hearts. We can conceive but
verylittle of those signs and expressions of horror which
there will be upon it, of shrieking, quaking, gnashing of
teeth, distortions of countenance, hideous looks, hideous
actions, and hideous voices, through all that vast throng.
6. Upon this Christ and all his church of saints, and
all the holy angels ministering to them, shall leave this
lower world, and ascend up towards the highest hea
vens. Christ shall ascend in as great glory as he de
scended, and in some respects greater: for now he shall
ascend with his elect church with him, glorified in both
body and soul. Christ's first ascension to heaven soon
after his own resurrection was very glorious. But this
his second ascension, the ascension of his mystical body,
his whole church, shall be far more glorious. The re
deemed church shall all ascend with him in a most joy
ful and triumphant manner; and all their enemies and
persecutors, who shall be left behind on the accursed
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 339
ground to be consumed, shall see the sight and hear their
songs.
And thus Christ's church shall for ever leave this ac
cursed world, to go into that more glorious world, the
highest heavens, into the paradise of God, the kingdom
that was prepared for them from the foundation of the
world.
7. When they are gone, this world shall be set on fire,
and be turned into a great furnace, wherein all the ene
mies of Christ and his church shall be tormented forever
and ever. This is manifest by 2 Pet. iii. 7. " But the
heavens and the earth which are now, by the same word
are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of
judgment, and perdition of ungodly men." When Christ
and his church are ascended to a distance from this
world, that miserable company of wicked being left be
hind, to have their sentence executed upon them here,
then, some way or other, this whole lower world shall
be set on fire, either by fire from heaven, or by fire
breaking out of the bowels of the earth, or both, as it
was with the water in the time of the deluge. However,
this lower world shall be set all on fire. — How will it
strike the wicked with horror, when the fire begins to
lay hold upon them, and they find no way to escape it,
or flee or hide from it ! What shrieking and crying will
there be among those many thousands and millions,
when they begin to enter into this great furnace, when
the whole world shall be a furnace of the fiercest and
most raging heat ! insomuch that the Apostle Peter says,
(2 Pet. iii. 10. 12.) that "the heavens shall pass away
with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fer
vent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein
shall be burnt up ;" and that the " heavens being on fire
shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fer
vent heat." And so fierce shall be its heat, that it shall
burn the earth into its very centre; which seems to be
what is meant, Deut. xxxii. 22. " For a fire is kindled in
my anger, and shall burn unto the lowest hell, and shall
consume the earth with her increase, and set on fire the
foundations of the mountains."
And here shall all the persecutors of the church of God
burn in everlasting fire, who have before burnt the saints
at the stake, and shall suffer torments far beyond all that
their utmost wit and malice could inflict on the saints.
And here the bodies of all the wicked shall burn, and be
tormented to all eternity, and never be consumed ; and
340 A HISTORY OF THE
the wrath of God shall be poured out on their souls.
Though the souls of the wicked in hell do now suffer
dreadful punishment, yet their punishment will be so in
creased at the day of judgment, that what they suffered
before, is, in comparison of it, as an imprisonment to the
execution which follows it. And now the devil, that old
serpent, shall receive his full punishment; now shall that
which he before trembled for fear of, fully corne upon
him. This world, which formerly used to be the place
of his kingdom, where he set up himself as God, shall
now be the place of his complete punishment, and full
and everlasting torment.
And in this, one design of the work of redemption
which has been mentioned, viz. putting Christ's enemies
under his feet, shall be perfectly accomplished. His ene
mies shall now be made his footstool, in the fullest de
gree. Now shall be the most perfect fulfilment of that
in Gen. iii. 15. "It shall bruise thy head."
8. At the same time, all the church shall enter with
Christ, their glorious Lord, into the highest heaven, and
there shall enter on the state of their highest and eternal
blessedness and glory. While the lower world, which
they have left under their feet, is seized with the fire of
God's vengeance, and flames are kindling upon it, and
the wicked are entering into everlasting fire, the whole
church shall enter, with their glorious head, and all the
holy angels attending, in a joyful manner, into the eter
nal paradise of God, the palace of the great Jehovah,
their heavenly Father. The gates shall open wide for
them to enter, and there Christ will bring them into his
chambers in the highest sense. He will bring them into
his Father's house, into a world not like that which they
have left. Here Christ will bring them, and present
them in glory to his Father, saying, " Here am I, and the
children which thou hast given me ;" as much as to say,
Here am I, with every one of those whom thou gavest
me from eternity to take the care of, that they might be
redeemed and glorified, and to redeem whom I have
done and suffered so much, and to make way for the
redemption of whom I have for so many ages been ac
complishing such great changes. Here they are now
perfectly redeemed in body and soul ; I have perfectly
delivered them from all the ill fruits of the fall, and per
fectly freed them from all their enemies : I have brought
them all together into one glorious society, and united
them all in myself: I have openly justified them before
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 341
all angels and men, and here I have brought them all
away from that accursed world where they have suffer
ed so much, and have brought them before thy throne:
I have done all that for them which thou hast appointed
me : I have perfectly cleansed them from all filthiness in
my blood, and here they are in perfect holiness, shining
with thy perfect image.
And then the Father will accept of them, and own
them all for his children, and will welcome them to the
eternal and perfect inheritance and glory of his house,
and will on this occasion give more glorious manifesta
tions of his love than ever before, and will admit them to
a more full and perfect enjoyment of himself.
And now shall be the marriage of the Lamb in the
most perfect sense. The commencement of the glorious
times of the church on earth, after the fall of Antichrist,
is represented as the marriage of the Lamb ; and this
shall be the marriage of the Lamb in the highest sense
that ever shall be on earth: but after this we read of an
other marriage of the Lamb, at the close of the day of
judgment. After the beloved disciple had given an ac
count of the day of judgment, in the close of the 20th
chapter of Revelation, then he proceeds to give an ac
count of what follows, in the 21st and 22d chapters;
and in the 2d verse of the 21st chapter, he gives an
account, that he saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem,
prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And when
Christ shall bring his church into his Father's house in
heaven, after the judgment, he shall bring her thither as
his bride, having there presented her, whom he loved,
and gave himself for, to himself without spot or wrinkle,
or any such thing.
The bridegroom and the bride shall then enter into
heaven, both having on their wedding robes, attended
with all the glorious angels. And there they enter on
the feast and joys of their marriage before the Father ;
they shall then begin an everlasting wedding day. This
shall be the day of the gladness of Christ's heart, where
in he will greatly rejoice, and all the saints shall rejoice
with him. Christ shall rejoice over his bride, and the
bride shall rejoice in her husband, in the state of her con
summate and everlasting blessedness, of which we have
a particular description in the 21st and 22d chapters of
Revelation.
And now the whole work of redemption is finished.
We have seen how it has been carrying on from the fall
29*
342
A HISTORY OF THE
of man to this time. But now it is complete with respect
to all that belongs to it. Now the top stone of the build
ing is laid. In the progress of the discourse on this sub
ject, we have followed the church of God in all the great
changes, all her tossings to and fro that she has been
subject to, in all the storms and tempests through the
many ages of the world, until at length we have seen an
end to all these storms. We have seen her enter the
harbour, and landed in the highest heavens, in complete
and eternal glory, in all her members, soul and body.
We have gone through time, and the several ages of it,
as the providence of God, and the word of God, have led
us ; and now we have issued into eternity after time
shall be no more. We have seen all the church's ene
mies fixed in endless misery, and have seen the church
presented in her perfect redemption before the Father in
heaven, there to enjoy this most unspeakable and incon
ceivable glory and blessedness; and there we leave her
to enjoy this glory throughout the never ending ages of
eternity.
Now all Christ's enemies will be perfectly put under
his feet, and he shall have his most perfect triumph over
sin and Satan, and all his instruments, and death, and
hell. Now shall all the promises made to Christ by God
the Father before the foundation of the world, the pro
mises of the covenant of redemption, be fully accom
plished. And Christ shall now perfectly have obtained
the joy that was set before him, for which he undertook
those great sufferings which he underwent in his state
of humiliation. Now shall all the hopes and expecta
tions of the saints be fulfilled. The state of things that
the church was in before, was a progressive and pre
paratory state : but now she is arrived to her most per
fect state of glory. All the glory of the glorious times
of the church on earth is but a faint shadow of this her
consummate glory in heaven.
And now Christ the great Redeemer shall be most
perfectly glorified, and God the Father shall be glorified
in him, and the Holy Ghost shall be most fully glorified
in the perfection of his work on the hearts of all the
church. — And now shall that new heaven and new earth,
or that renewed state of things, which had been building
up ever since Christ's resurrection, be completely finish
ed, after the very material frame of the old heavens and
old earth are destroyed : Rev. xxi. 1. " And I saw a new
heaven, and a new earth: for the first heaven arid the
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 343
first earth were passed away." — And now will the great
Redeemer have perfected every thing that appertains to
the work of redemption, which he began so soon after
the fall of man. And who can conceive of the triumph
of those praises which shall be sung in heaven on this
great occasion, so much greater than that of the fall of
Antichrist, which occasions such praises as we have de
scribed in the 19th chapter of Revelation! The beloved
disciple John seems to want expressions to describe
those praises, and says, " It was as the voice of many
waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying,
Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth." But
much more inexpressible will those praises be, which
will be sung in heaven after the final consummation of
all things. Now shall the praises of that vast and glori
ous multitude be as mighty thunderings indeed !
And now how are all the former things passed away,
and what a glorious state are things fixed in to remain
to all eternity ! — And as Christ, when he first entered
upon the work of redemption after the fall of men, had
the kingdom committed to him of the Father, and took
on himself the administration of the affairs of the uni
verse, to manage all so as to subserve the purposes of
this affair ; so now, the work being finished, he will de
liver up the kingdom to God, even the Father, 1 Cor. xv.
24. " Then cometh the end, when he shall have deliver
ed up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he
shall have put down all rule, and all authority and pow
er." Not that Christ shall cease to reign or have a king
dom after this ; for it is said, Luke i. 33. " He shall reign
over the house of Jacob for ever, and of his kingdom
there shall be no end." So in Dan. vii. 14. " That his
dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not
pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be de
stroyed." But the meaning is, that Christ shall deliver
up that kingdom or dominion which he has over the
world, as the Father's delegate or vicegerent, which the
Father committed to him, to be managed in subservi
ency to this great design of redemption. The end of this
commission, or delegation, which he had from the Father,
seems to be to subserve this particular design of redemp
tion; and therefore, when that design is fully accom
plished, the commission will cease, and Christ will de
liver it up to the Father, from whom he received it.
344 A HISTORY OF THE
IMPROVEMENT OP THE WHOLE.
I PROCEED now to enter upon some improvement of the
whole that has been said from this doctrine.
I. Hence we may learn how great a work this work
of redemption is. We have now had it in a very imper
fect manner set forth before us, in the whole progress of
it, from its first beginning after the fall, to the end of the
world, when it is finished. We have seen how God has
carried on this building from the first foundation of it,
by a long succession of wonderful works, advancing it
higher and higher from one age to another, until the top
stone is laid at the end of the world. And now let us
consider how great a work this is. Do men, when they
behold some great palaces or churches, sometimes ad
mire their magnificence, and are almost astonished to
consider how great a piece of work it was to build such
an house] Then, how well may we admire the greatness
of this building of God, which he builds up age after age,
by a series of such great things which he brings to- pass?
There are three things that have been exhibited to us in
what has been said, which do especially show the great
ness of the work of redemption.
1. The greatness of those particular events, and dis
pensations of providence, by which it is accomplished.
How great are those things which God has done, which
are but so many parts of this great work ! What great
things were done in the world to prepare the way for
Christ's coming to purchase, and what great things were
done in the purchase of redemption ! What a wonder
ful thing was that which was accomplished to put Christ
in an immediate capacity for this purchase, viz. his in
carnation, that God should become man ! And what
great things were done in that purchase, that a person
who is the eternal Jehovah, should live upon earth for
four or five and thirty years together, in a mean despised
condition, and that he should spend his life in such la
bours and sufferings, and that at last he should die upon
the cross ! And what great things have been done to
accomplish the success of Christ's redemption! what
great things to put him into a capacity to accomplish
this success ! For this purpose he rose from the dead,
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 345
•
and ascended up into heaven, and all things were made
subject to him. How many miracles have been wrought,
what mighty revolutions have been brought to pass in
the world already, and how much greater shall be
brought to pass, in order to it !
2. The number of those great events by which God
carries on this work, shows the greatness of the work.
Those mighty revolutions are so many as to fill up
many ages. The particular wonderful events by which
the work of creation was carried on filled up six days :
but the great dispensations by which the work of re
demption is carried on, are so many, that they fill up six or
seven thousand years at least, as we have reason to con
clude from the word of God. — There were great things
wrought in this affair before the flood, and in the flood
the world was once destroyed by water, and God's
church was so wonderfully preserved from the flood in
order to carry on this work. And after the flood, what
great things did God work relating to the resettling of
the world, to the building of Babel, fne dispersing of the
nations, the shortening of the days of man's life, the call
ing of Abraham, the destruction of Sodom and Gomor
rah, and that long series of wonderful providences relat
ing to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and Joseph, and those
wonders in Egypt, and at the Red sea, and in the wild
erness, and in Canaan in Joshua's time, and by a long
succession of wonderful providences from age to age,
towards the nation of the Jews !
What great things were wrought by God, in so often
overturning the world before Christ came, to make way
for his coming ! What great things were done also in
Christ's time, and then after that in overturning Satan's
kingdom in the heathen empire, and in so preserving his
church in the dark times of Popery, and in bringing
about a Reformation ! How many great and wonderful
things will be effected in accomplishing the glorious
times of the church, and at Christ's last coming on the
day of judgment, in the destruction of the world, and in
carrying the whole church into heaven.
3. The glorious issue of this whole affair, in the per
fect and eternal destruction of the wicked, and in the
consummate glory of the righteous. And now let us
once more take a view of this building, now all is finish
ed and the top stone laid. It appeared in a glorious
height in the apostles' time, and much more glorious in
the time of Constantine and will appear much more glo
846 A HISTORY OP THE
rious still after the fall of Antichrist; but at the consum
mation of all things, it appears in an immensely more
glorious height than ever before. Now it appears in its
greatest magnificence, as a complete lofty structure,
whose top reaches to the heaven of heavens ; a building
worthy of the great God, the King of kings.
And from what has been said, one may argue, that
the work of redemption is the greatest of all God's works
of which we have any notice, and it is the end of all his
other works. It appears plainly from what has been
said, that this work is the principal of all God's works of
providence, and that all other works of providence, are
reducible hither; they are all subordinate to the great
affair of redemption. We see that all the revolutions in
the world are to subserve this grand design ; so that
the work of redemption is, as it were, the sum of God's
works of providence.
This shows us how much greater the work of redemp
tion is, than the work of creation : for I have several
times observed, that the work of providence is greater
than the work of creation, because it is the end of it; as
the use of an house is the end of the building of the
house. But the work of redemption, as I have just said,
is the sum of all God's works of providence; all are sub
ordinate to it: so the work of the new creation is more
excellent than the old. So it ever is, that when one
thing is removed by God to make way for another, the
new one excels the old. Thus the temple excelled the
tabernacle ; the new covenant the old ; the new dispen
sation of the gospel the dispensation of Moses ; the throne
of David the throne of Saul; the priesthood of Christ the
priesthood of Aaron ; the new Jerusalem the old ; and so
the new creation far excels the old.
God has used the creation which he has made, for no
other purpose but to subserve the designs of this affair.
To answer this end, he hath created and disposed of
mankind, to this the angels, to this the earth, to this the
highest heavens. God created the world to provide a
spouse and a kingdom for his Son : and the setting up of
the kingdom of Christ, and the spiritual marriage of the
spouse to him, is what the whole creation labours and
travails in pain to bring to pass. This work of redemp
tion is so much the greatest of all the works of God,
that all other works are to be looked upon either as parts
of it, or appendages to it, or are some way reducible to
it ; and so all the decrees of God do some way or other
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 347
belong to that eternal covenant of redemption which was
between the Father and the Son before the foundation
of the world. Every decree of God is some way or
other reducible to that covenant.
And seeing this work of redemption is so great a
work, hence we need not wonder that the angels desire
to look into it. And we need not wonder that so much
is made of it in scripture, and that it is so much insisted
on in the histories, and prophecies, and songs of the
Bible; for the work of redemption is the great subject
of the whole, of its doctrines, its promises, its types, its
songs, its histories, and its prophecies.
II. Hence we may learn how God is the Alpha and
Omega, the beginning and ending of all things. Such
are the characters and titles we find often ascribed to
God in scripture, in those places where the scripture
speaks of the course of things, and series of events in
providence : Isa. xli. 4. " Who hath wrought and done
it, calling the generations from the beginning] I the
Lord the first, and with the last, I am he." And partic
ularly does the scripture ascribe such titles to God,
where it speaks of the providence of God, as it relates to,
and is summed up in the great work of redemption ; as
Isa. xliv. 6, 7. and xlviii. 12. with the context, beginning
with the 9th verse. So God eminently appears as the
first and the last, by considering the whole scheme of
divine providence as we have considered it, viz. as all
reducible to that one great work of redemption.
And therefore, when Christ reveals the future great
events of providence relating to his church and people,
and this affair of redemption, to the end of the world, to
his disciple John, he often reveals himself under this
character. So Rev. i. 8. " I am Alpha and Omega, the
beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and
which was, and which is to come, the Almighty." So
again, verses 10, 11. "I heard behind me a great voice
as of a trumpet, saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first
and the last." Alpha and Omega are the names of the
first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, as A and Z
are of ours ; and therefore it signifies the same as his
being the first and the last, and the beginning and the
ending.
Thus God is called in the beginning of this book of
Revelation, before the course of the prophecy begins;
and so again he is called at the end of it, after the course
of events is gone through, and the final issue of things
348 A HISTORY OF THE
is seen : as Rev. xxi. 6. " And he said unto me, It is
done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the
end." And so chap. xxii. 12, 13. "And behold, I come
quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man
according as his work shall be. I am Alpha and Omega,
the beginning and the end, the first and the last."
We haVe seen how this is true in the course of what 1
have laid before you upon this subject. We have seen
how things were from God in the beginning; on what
design God began the course of his providence in the
beginning of the generations of men upon the earth ;
and we have seen how it is God that has all along car
ried things on agreeable to the same designs without
ever failing; and how at last the conclusion and final
issue of things are to God ; and so we have seen how all
things are of him, and through him, and to him ; and
therefore may well now cry out with the apostle, Rom.
xi. 33. " O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and
knowledge of God ! how unsearchable are his judgments,
and his ways past finding out !" and verse 36. " For of
him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to
whom be glory for ever. Amen."
We have seen how other things came to an end one
after another; how states, and kingdoms, and empires,
one after another, fell and came to nothing, even the
greatest and strongest of them ; we have seen how the
world has been often overturned, and will be more re
markably overturned than ever it has been yet; we
have seen how the world comes to an end, how it was
first destroyed by water, arid how at last it shall be ut
terly destroyed by fire : but yet God remains the 'same
through all ages. He was before the beginning of this
course of things, and he will be after the end of them ;
agreeable to Psa. cii. 25, 26. — Thus God is he that is, and
that was, and that is to come.
We have seen, in a variety of instances, how all other
gods perish ; we have seen how the ancient gods of the
heathen in the nations about Canaan, and throughout the
Roman empire, are all destroyed, and their worship long
since overthrown ; we have heard how Antichrist, who
has called himself a god on earth, and how Mahomet,
who claims religious honours, and how all the gods of
the heathen through the world, will come to an end ; and
how Satan, the great dragon, that old serpent, who has
set up himself as god of this world, will be cast into the
lake of fire, there to suffer his complete punishment : but
WORK OP REDEMPTION. 349
Jehovah remains, and his kingdom is an everlasting king
dom, and of his dominions there is no end. We have
seen what mighty changes there have been in the world
but God is unchangeable, " the same yesterday, to-day,
and forever."
We began at the head of the stream of divine provi
dence, and have followed and traced it through its vari
ous windings and turnings, until we are come to the end
of it, and we see where it issues. As it began in God, so
it ends in God. God is the infinite ocean into which it
empties itself. — Providence is'like a mighty wheel, whose
circumference is so high that it is dreadful, with the glo
ry of the God of Israel above upon it ; as it is represent
ed in Ezekiel's vision. We have seen the revolution of
this wheel, and how, as it was from God, so its return
has been to God again. All the events of divine provi
dence are like the links of a chain ; the first link is from
God, and the last is to him.
III. We may see by what has been said, how Christ
in all things has the pre-eminence. For this great work
of redemption is all his work : he is the great Redeemer,
and therefore the work of redemption being as it were
the sum of God's works of providence, this shows the
glory of our Lord Jesus Christ, as being above all, and
through all, and in all. That God intended the world for
his Son's use in the affair of redemption, is one reason
that is to be given why he created the world by him,
which seems to be intimated by the apostle in Eph. iii.
9-12. What has been said, shows how all the purposes
of God are purposed in Christ, and how he is before all
and above all, and all things consist by him, and are gov
erned by him, and are for him, Colos. i. 15, 16, if, 18.
We see by what has been said, how God makes him his
first-born, higher than the kings of the earth, and sets
his throne above their thrones ; how God has always up
held his kingdom, when the kingdoms of others have
come to an end ; how that appears at last above all, how
ever greatly opposed for so many ages ; how finally all
other kingdoms fell, and his kingdom is the last king
dom, and is a kingdom that never gives place to any
other.
We see, that whatever changes there are, and howev
er highly Christ's enemies exalt themselves, that yet fi
nally all his enemies become his footstool, and he reigns
in uncontrolled power and immense glory: in the end
his people are all perfectly saved and made happy, and
30
S5O A HISTORY OF THE
his enemies all become his footstool.— And thus God gives
the world to his Son for his inheritance.
IV. Hence we may see what a consistent thing divine
providence is. The consideration of what has been said,
may greatly serve to show us the consistency, order, and
beauty, of God's works of providence If we behold the
events of providence in any other view than that in which
it has been set before us, it will all look like confusion,
like a number of jumbled events coming to pass without
any order or method, like the tossing of the waves of the
sea ; things will look as though one confused revolution
came to pass after another, merely by blind chance, with
out any regular or certain end.
But if we consider the events of providence in the
light in which they have been set before us under this
doctrine, in which the scriptures set them before us, they
appear far from being jumbled and confused, an orderly
series of events, all wisely ordered and directed in ex
cellent harmony and consistence, tending all to one end.
The wheels of providence are not turned round by blind
chance, but they are full of eyes round about, as Ezekiel
represents, and they are guided by the Spirit of God :
where the Spirit goes, they go : and all God's works of
providence through all ages meet in one at last, as so
many lines meeting in one centre.
It is with God's work of providence, as it is with his
work of creation ; it is but one work. The events of
providence are not so many distinct, independent works
of providence, but they are rather so many different parts
of one work of providence : it is all one work, one regu
lar scheme. God's works of providence are not disunited
and jumbled without connexion or dependence, but are
all united, just as the several parts of one building:
there are many stones, many pieces of timber, but all are
so joined, and fitly formed together, that they make but
one building : they have all but one foundation, and are
united at last in one top stone.
God's providence may not unfitly be compared to a
large and long river, having innumerable branches, begin
ning in different regions, and at a great distance one from
another, and all conspiring to one common issue. After
their very diverse and contrary courses which they held
for a while, yet they all gather more and more together,
the nearer they come to their common end, and all at
length discharge themselves at one mouth into the same
ocean. The different streams of this river are apt to ap-
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 351
pear like mere jumble and confusion to us, because of the
limitedness of our sight, whereby we cannot see from
one branch to another, and cannot see the whole at once,
so as to see how all are united in one. A man who sees
but one or two streams at a time, cannot tell what their
course tends to. Their course seems very crooked, and
different streams seem to run for a while different and
contrary ways: and if we view things at a distance,
there seem to be innumerable obstacles and impediments
in the way to hinder their ever uniting, and coming to
the ocean, as rocks and mountains, and the like; but yet
if we trace them, they all unite at last, and all come to
the same issue, disgorging themselves in one into the
same great ocean. Not one of all the streams fails of
coming hither at last.
V. FVom the whole that has been said, we may strong
ly argue, that the scriptures are the word of God, because
they alone inform us what God is about, or what he aims
at, in these works which he is doing in the world. God
doubtless is pursuing some design, and carrying on some
scheme, in the various changes and revolutions which
from age to age come to pass in the world. It is most
reasonable to suppose, that there is some certain great de
sign to which Providence subordinates all the great suc
cessive changes in the affairs of the world which God
has made. It is reasonable to suppose, that all revolu
tions, from the beginning of the world to the end of it,
are but the various parts of the same scheme, all con
spiring to bring to pass that great event which the great
Creator and Governor of the world has ultimately in
view ; and that the scheme will not be finished, nor the
design fully accomplished, and the great and ultimate
event fully brought to pass, until the end of the world,
and the last revolution is brought about.
Now there is nothing else that informs us what this
scheme and design of God in his works is, but only the
holy scriptures. Nothing else pretends to set in view the
whole series of God's works of providence from begin
ning to end, and to inform us how all things were from
God at first, and for what end they are, and how they
were ordered from the beginning, and how they will pro
ceed to the end of the world, and what they will come to
at last, and how then all things shall be to God. Nothing
else but the scriptures has any pretence for showing any
manner of regular scheme or drift in those revolutions
which God orders from age to age. Nothing else pre-
352 A HISTORY OF THE
tends to show what God would by the things which he
has done, and is doing, and will do ; what he seeks and
intends by them. Nothing else pretends to show, with
any distinctness or certainty, how the world began at
first, or to tell us the original of things. Nothing but the
scriptures sets forth how God governed the world from
the beginning of the generations of men upon the earth,
in an orderly history; and nothing else sets before us
how he will govern it to the end, by an orderly prophecy
of future events; agreeable to the challenge which God
makes to the gods, and prophets, and teachers of the hea
then, in Isa. xli. 22, 23. " Let them bring them forth,
and shew us what shall happen : let them shew the for
mer things what they be, that we may consider them,
and know the latter end of them ; or declare us things
for to come. Shew the things that are to come hereaf
ter, that we may know that ye are gods."
Reason shows, that it is fit and requisite, that the in
telligent and rational beings of the world should know
something of God's scheme and design in his works ; for
they doubtless are the beings that are principally con
cerned. The thing that is God's great design in his
works, is doubtless something concerning his reasonable
creatures, rather than brute beasts and lifeless things.
The revolutions by which God's great design is brought
to pass, are doubtless revolutions chiefly among them,
and which concern their state, and not the state of things
without life or reason. And therefore surely it is requi
site, that they should know something of it; especially
seeing that reason teaches, that God has given his ra
tional creatures reason, and a capacity of seeing God in
his works ; for this end, that they may see God's glory
in them, and give him the glory of them. But, how can
they see God's glory in his works, if they do not know
what God's design in them is, and what he aims at by
what he is doing in the world?
And further, it is fit that mankind should be informed
something of God's design in the government of the
world, because they are made capable of actively falling
in with that design, and promoting of it, and acting
herein as his friends and subjects ; it is therefore reason
able to suppose, that God has given mankind some reve
lation to inform them of this:"but there is nothing else
that does it but the Bible. In the Bible this is done.
Hence we may learn an account of the first original of
things, and an orderly account of the scheme of God's
WORK OP REDEMPTION. 353
works from the first beginning, through those ages that
are beyond the reach of all other histories. Here we
are told what GocJ aims at in the whole, what is the
great end, how he nas contrived the grand design he
drives at, and the great things he would accomplish by
all. Here we have a most rational excellent account of
this matter, worthy of God, and exceedingly shewing
forth the glory of his perfections, his majesty, his wis
dom, his glorious holiness, and grace, and love, and his
exaltation above all, showing how he is the first and the
last.
Here we are shown the connexion of the various parts
of the work of providence, and how all harmonises, and
is connected together in a regular, beautiful, and glori
ous frame. In the Bible, we have an account of the
whole scheme of providence, from the beginning of the
world to the end of it, either in history or prophecy, and
are told what will become of things at last ; how they
will be finished off by a great day of judgment, and will
issue in the subduing of God's enemies, and in the sal
vation and glory of his church, and setting up of the
everlasting kingdom of his Son.
How rational, worthy, and excellent a revelation is
this ! and how excellent a book is the Bible, which con
tains so much beyond all other bocks in the world ! and
what characters are here of its being indeed a divine
book ! a book that the great Jehovah has given to man
kind for their instruction, without which we should be
left in miserable darkness and confusion.
VI. From what has been said, we may see the glori
ous majesty and power of God in this affair of redemp
tion : especially is God glorious in power. His glorious
power appears in upholding his church for so long a
time, and carrying on this work ; upholding it often
times when it was but as a little spark of fire, or as
smoking flax, in which the fire was almost gone out, and
the power of earth and hell were combined to destroy it.
Yet God has never suffered them to quench it, and
finally will bring forth judgment unto victory. God glo
rifies his strength in his church's weakness; in causing
his people, who are like a number of little infants, finally
to triumph over all earth and hell; so that they shall
tread on the lion and adder; the young lion and dragon
shall they trample under foot. The glorious power of
God appears in conquering his many and mighty ene
mies by that person who was once an infant in a man-
30*
354 A HISTORY OF THE
ger, and appeared as a poor, weak, despised man. He
conquers them, and triumphs over them in their own
weapon, the cross.
The glorious majesty of God appears in conquering
all those mighty enemies of the church one age after an
other; in conquering Satan that proud and strong spi
rit, and all his hellish host; in bringing him down under
foot, long after he had vaunted himself as god of this
world, and when he did his utmost to support himself in
his kingdom.
God's power gloriously appears in conquering Satan
when exalted in that strongest and most potent heathen
kingdom that ever he had, the Roman empire. Christ,
our Michael, has overcome him, and the devil was cast
out, and there was found no more place for him in hea
ven ; but he was cast out unto the earth, and his angels
were cast out with him. Again, his power gloriously
appears in conquering him in that kingdom wherein his
pride, and subtlety, and cruelty, above all appear, viz.
the kingdom of Antichrist. It gloriously appears in con
quering him in that greatest and strongest combination
and opposition of the devil and his adherents against
Christ and his church, just before the fall of Antichrist,
wherein his visible kingdom has a fatal blow given it,
on which an universal downfall of it follows all over the
world.
The glorious power of God appears in thus conquer
ing the devil, and bringing him under foot, time a'fter
time, after Jong time given him to strengthen himself to
his utmost, as he was once overthrown in his heathen
Roman empire, after he had been making himself strong
in those parts of the world, ever since the building of
Babel. It appears also in overthrowing his kingdom
more fatally and universally all over the world, after he
had again another opportunity given him to strengthen
himself to his utmost for many ages, by setting up those
two great kingdoms of Antichrist and Mahomet, and to
establish his interest in the heathen world. We have
seen how these kingdoms of God's enemies, that, before
God appears, look strong, as though it was impossible to
overthrow them ; yet, time after time, when God ap
pears, they seem to melt away, as the fat of lambs before
the fire, and are driven away as the chaff before the
whirlwind, or the smoke out of the chimney.
Those mighty kingdoms of Antichrist and Mahomet,
which have made such a figure for so many ages to
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 355
gether, and have trampled the world under foot, when
God comes to appear, will vanish away like a shadow,
and will as it were disappear of themselves, and come to
nothing, as the darkness in a room does, when the light
is brought in. What are God's enemies in his hands]
How is their greatest strength weakness when he rises
up! and how "weak will they all appear together at the
day of judgment ! Thus we may apply those words in
the song of Moses, Exod. xv. 6. " Thy right hand, O
Lord, is become glorious in power: thy right hand, O
Lord, hath dashed in pieces the enemy." And how
great doth the majesty of God appear in overturning the
world from time to time, to accomplish his designs, and
at last in causing the earth and heavens to flee away,
for the advancement of the glory of his kingdom!
VII. From what has been said, we may see the glori
ous wisdom of God. It shows the wisdom of God in
creating the world, in that he has created it for such an
excellent use, to accomplish in it so glorious a work.
And it shows the wisdom of divine Providence, that he
brings such great good out of such great evil, in making
the fall and ruin of mankind, which in itself is so sor
rowful and deplorable, an occasion of accomplishing such
a glorious work as this work of redemption, and of
erecting such a glorious building, whose top should
reach unto heaven, and of bringing his elect to a state
of such unspeakable happiness. And how glorious doth
the wisdom of God appear in that long course and series
of great changes in the world, in bringing such order
out of confusion, in so frustrating the devil, and so won
derfully turning all his most subtle machinations to his
own glory, and the glory of his Son Jesus Christ ! and
in causing the greatest works of Satan, those in which
he has most glorified himself, to be wholly turned into
occasions of so much the more glorious triumph of his
Son Jesus Christ ! And how wonderful is the wisdom
of God, in bringing all such manifold and various changes
and overturnirigs in the world to such a glorious period
at 'ast, and in so directing all the wheels of providence
by his skilful hand, that every one of them conspires, as
the m.mifold wheels of a most curious machine, at last
to strike out such an excellent issue, such a manifesta
tion of the divine glory, such happiness to his people, and
such a glorious and everlasting kingdom to his Son !
VIII. From what has been said, we may see the sta
bility of God's mercy and faithfulness to his people; how
856
A HISTORY OP THE
he never forsakes his inheritance, and remembers his
covenant to them through all generations. Now we
may see what reason there was for the words of the
text, " The moth shall eat them up like a garment, and
the worm shall eat them like wool ; but my righteous
ness shall endure for ever and ever, and my salvation
from generation to generation." And now we may see
abundant reason for that name of God which he reveals
to Moses, Exod. iii. 14. " And God said unto Moses, I
am that I am ;" i. e. I am the same that I was when I en
tered into covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,
and ever shall be the same ; I shall keep covenant for
ever: I am self-sufficient, all-sufficient, and immutable.
And now we may see the truth of that, Psa. xxxvi.
5, 6. "Thy mercy, O Lord, is in the heavens; and thy
faithfulness reacheth unto the clouds. Thy righteous
ness is like the great mountains ; thy judgments are a
great deep." And if we consider what has been said,
we need not wonder that the Psalmist, in the 136th
Psalm, so often repeats this, For his mercy endureth for
ever ; as if he were in an ecstasy at the consideration of
the perpetuity of God's mercy to his church, and delight
ed to think of it, and knew not how but continually to
express it. Let us with like pleasure and joy celebrate
the everlasting duration of God's mercy and faithfulness
to his church and people, and let us be comforted by it
under the present dark circumstances of the church of
God, and all the uproar and confusions that are in the
world, and all the threatenings of the church's enemies.
And let us take encouragement earnestly to pray for
those glorious things which God has promised to accom
plish for his church.
IX. Hence we may learn how happy a society the
church of Christ is. For all this great work is for them.
Christ undertook it for their sakes, and for their sakes he
carries it on, from the fall of man to the end of the world ;
it is because he has loved them with an everlasting love.
For their sakes he overturns states and kingdoms. For
their sakes he shakes heaven and earth. He gives men
for them, and people for their life. Since they have been
precious in God's sight, they have been honorable ; and
therefore he first gives the blood of his own Son to them,
and then; for their sakes, gives the blood of all their ene
mies, many thousands and millions, all nations that stand
In their way, as a sacrifice to their good.
For their sakes he made the world, and for their sakes
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 357
he will destroy it : for their sakes he built heaven, and
for their sakes he makes his angels ministering spirits.
Therefore the Apostle says, as he does, 1 Cor. iii. 21. &c.
" All things are yours : whether Paul, or Apollos, or Ce
phas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, 01
things to come ; all are yours." How blessed is this peo-
Ele who are redeemed from among men, and are the first
•uits unto God, and to the Lamb ; who have God in all
ages for their protection and help ! Deut. xxxiii. 29.
"^lappy art thou, O Israel : who is like unto thee, O peo
ple saved by the Lord, the shield of thy help, and who is
the sword of thy excellency ! and thine enemies shall be
found liars unto thee, and thou shalt tread upon their
high places."
Let who will prevail now, let the enemies of the church
exalt themselves as much as they will, these are the peo
ple that shall finally prevail. The last kingdom shall fi
nally be theirs ; the kingdom shall finally be given into
their hands, and shall not be left to other people. We
have seen what a blessed issue things shall finally be
brought to as to them, and what glory they shall arrive
at, and remain in possession of, for ever and ever, after
all the kingdoms of the world are come to an end, and
the earth is removed, and mountains are carried into the
depth of the sea, or where the sea was, and this lower
earth shall all be dissolved. O happy people, and blessed
society ! Well may they spend an eternity in praises and
hallelujahs to him who hath loved them from eternity,
and will love them to eternity.
X. And, lastly, hence all wicked men, all that are in a
Christless condition, may see their exceeding misery.
You that are such, whoever you are, you are those who
shall have no part or lot in this matter. You are never
the better for any of those things of which you have
heard : yea, your guilt is but so much the greater, and
the misery you are exposed to so much the more dread
ful. You are some of that sort, against whom God, in
the progress of the work, exercises so much manifest
wrath ; some of those enemies who are liable to be made
Christ's footstool, and to be ruled with a rod of iron, and
to be dashed in pieces. You are some of the seed of the
serpent, to bruise the head of which is one great design
of all this work. Whatever glorious things God accom
plishes for his church, if you continue in the state you
are now in, they will not be glorious to you. The most
glorious times of the church are always the most dismal
358 A HISTORY OF THE
times to the wicked and impenitent. This we are taught
in Isa. Ixvi. 14. — And so we find, wherever glorious
things are foretold concerning the church, there terrible
things are foretold concerning the wicked, its enemies.
And so it ever has been in fact ; in all remarkable deliv
erances wrought for the church, there has been also a re
markable execution of wrath on its enemies. So it was
when God delivered the children of Israel out of Egypt ;
at the same time he remarkably poured out his wrath on
Pharaoh and the Egyptians. So when he brought them
into Canaan by Joshua, and gave them that good land,
he remarkably executed wrath upon the Canaanites. So
when they were delivered out of their Babylonish cap
tivity, signal vengeance was inflicted on the Babylonians.
So when the Gentiles were called, and the elect of God
were saved by the preaching of the apostles, Jerusalem
and the persecuting Jews were destroyed in a most aw
ful manner. I might observe the same concerning the
glory accomplished to the church in the days of Constan-
tine, at the overthrow of Satan's visible kingdom in the
downfall of Antichrist, and at the day of judgment.
In all these instances, and especially in the last, there
have been, or will be, exhibited most awful tokens of the
divine wrath against the wicked. And to this class you
belong.
You are indeed some of that sort that God will make
use of in this affair; but it will be for the glory of his
justice, and not of his mercy. You are some of those
enemies of God who are reserved for the triumph of
Christ's glorious power in overcoming and punishing
them. You are some of that sort that shall be consumed
with this accursed world after the day of judgment,
when Christ and his church shall triumphantly and glo
riously ascend to heaven.
Therefore let all that are in a Christless condition
amongst us seriously consider these things, and not be
like the foolish people of the old world, who would not
take warning, when Noah told them, that the Lord was
about to bring a flood of waters upon the earth ; or like
the people of Sodom, who would not regard, when Lot
told them, that God would destroy that city, and would
not flee from the wrath to come, and so were consumed
in that terrible destruction.
And now I would conclude my whole discourse on
this subject, in words like those in the last of the Reve
lation : " These sayings are faithful and true, and bless-
WORK OF REDEMPTION. 359
ed is he that keepeth these sayings. Behold, Christ com-
eth quickly, and his reward is with him, to render to
every man according as his work shall be. And he that
is unjust, shall be unjust still ; and he that is filthy, shall
be filthy still ; and he that is holy, shall be holy still.
Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they
may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in
through the gates into the city: for without are dogs,
and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and
idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie. He
that testifieth these things, saith, Surely I come quickly.
Amen : even so come, Lord Jesus."
THE END.
8821
NOV 3
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